The 22nd-ranked Emory University Eagles staved off elimination at the NCAA Division III Baseball Championships on Saturday morning in Appleton, Wisconsin with an 8-5 win over Linfield College, the second-ranked team in D-III and the reigning National Champions.
Emory, now 35-12 on the season, will look to keep momentum going on Sunday, when the squad will play another elimination game against the loser of Saturday's contest between SUNY Cortland and Wisconsin-Whitewater. The game is scheduled for a first pitch at 4:30 PM ET.
The Wildcats, who dropped their second game of the final rounds of the NCAA Championship, were eliminated from tournament play, ending their title defense.
Emory, the visiting team in Saturday's game, jumped out to a quick start in the game with three runs in the top of the first inning. Senior Brandon Hannon started the rally with a one-out double, and the Eagles proceeded to draw three-straight walks off Linfield starter and All-America Second Team selection Aaron Thomassen, including an RBI free pass with the bases loaded issued to senior Jared Kahn. Senior Jared Welch followed with two-strike RBI single, and freshman Philip- Maldari capped off the scoring with a sacrifice fly, scoring senior Daniel Iturrey from third. Emory would chase Thomassen from the game after just two thirds of an inning, giving way to reliever Zach Manley, who got the final out of the inning without any further damage.
After Emory's junior starter Connor Dillman pitched a scoreless first inning, the Eagles went back on the attack in the second, scoring runs on an RBI single from junior Brett Lake and a RBI fielder's hit into by Welch, pushing Emory's advantage to 5-0.
Dillman worked out of jams in his next few innings, as Linfield left the bases loaded in the second, a runner on in the third, and two in the fourth, but could not score on the Eagles' right-handed starter. Meanwhile Manley retired seven-straight batters, before the Eagles added another run in the fifth without the benefit of a hit, when Kahn was hit by a pitch, stole second, moved to third on a groundout, and scored on a sacrifice fly from junior Jordan Selbach.
Linfield continued to threaten, finally taking advantage of a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the sixth, when Corey VanDomelen singled with two outs to score two runs, and chase Dillman from the contest. However, senior Matt McMahon entered the game in relief and retired Nick Fisher on a groundout to second base to end the threat.
Dillman finished the game with the pair of earned runs allowed on seven hits and four walks, while striking out five batters over five and two-thirds innings. He would go on to earn the win in the game, improving to 10-1 for the campaign.
Both offenses put runs on the board in the seventh and eighth innings as well. In the seventh, Maldari extended Emory's lead to 7-2 with his second sacrifice fly of the game, but the Wildcats answered back with an RBI single in the bottom of the frame from Jo Carroll. The Eagles would score again on a wild pitch in the top of the eighth, but once again, Linfield plated a pair on RBI singles from Clayton Truex and Kramer Lindell against Emory reliever Ben Hinojosa, cutting Emory's lead to 8-5.
With two out and the tying run at the plate in the eighth, freshman reliever Kyle Monk entered and struck out Carroll to end the inning. He then pitched around a two-out infield hit in the ninth to get through a scoreless frame and close out the contest for his sixth save of the year, five of which have come during NCAA Tournament play.
Lake, Iturrey and Kahn each had a pair of hits in the game for Emory, while Welch and Maldari each drove in two runs in the game.
Thomassen took the loss for the Wildcats, dropping to 10-2 on the season. Linfield's season came to a close with a record of 37-9.
August 6, 2014
2014 Emory Baseball Season Recap
May 30, 2014
Hannon Named Capital One Academic All-American
May 23, 2014
Lake & Welch Claim National Honors
May 20, 2014
Welch & Monk Named UAA Athletes of the Week
May 19, 2014
Four Eagles Earn D3Baseball.com All-Region Accolades
May 14, 2014
#22 Emory Opens NCAAs with 4-2 Win over Rhodes
May 12, 2014
#24/30 Emory Heads to Demorest for NCAA Regionals
May 12, 2014
Emory Baseball Named to the NCAA Championship Field
April 29, 2014
Dillman Named UAA Athlete of the Week
April 25, 2014
Dillman Strikes out 14 as Emory Blanks Huntingdon 8-0
April 24, 2014
Eagles to Wrap-Up Regular Season against Huntingdon
April 22, 2014
Baseball vs. LaGrange Postponed Until Wednesday
April 22, 2014
Hansen Claims Fourth Conference Pitcher of the Week Honor
April 19, 2014
Emory Falls to NAIA #4 Georgia Gwinnett on Senior Day
April 18, 2014
Friday Baseball at Georgia Gwinnett Rained Out
April 16, 2014
Emory Shuts Out Berry 5-0 to Sweep Season Series
April 14, 2014
Emory Baseball vs. Berry Postponed Until Wednesday
April 12, 2014
Eagles Hold on for 5-4 Win over Southwestern
April 11, 2014
Hannon Records 200th Hit in 10-2 Win over Southwestern
April 1, 2014
Dillman & Maldari Named Association Players of the Week
March 31, 2014
29th-Ranked Emory to Play at Berry College on Tuesday
March 30, 2014
#29 Emory Splits Doubleheader with #10 Birmingham-So.
March 28, 2014
Weather Forces Changes to Weekend Baseball Schedule
March 28, 2014
#29 Emory to Face #10 BSC in Key Weekend Series
March 26, 2014
#29 Emory Falls in Ninth Inning to Centre College
March 25, 2014
Kahn & Hansen Named UAA Hitter & Pitcher of the Week
March 25, 2014
Kahn Named to D3Baseball.com Team of the Week
March 23, 2014
Emory Wins Fourth-Straight with 7-1 Victory over DePauw
March 22, 2014
Sunday Baseball Game vs. DePauw moved to 2 PM
March 22, 2014
Emory Baseball Sweeps DePauw in Saturday Doubleheader
March 21, 2014
Hannon & Lake Named to All-UAA Tournament Team
March 20, 2014
Emory Returns Home to Host Weekend Series against DePauw
March 16, 2014
Emory Defeats Brandeis to win 12th UAA Championship
March 13, 2014
Eagles win Third-Straight at UAA Baseball Championships
March 12, 2014
Lake & Weeg Earn Weekly Honors
March 11, 2014
Emory Defeats Wash U. 8-2 at UAA Championships
March 10, 2014
Emory Baseball Splits Doubleheader during Day 2 of UAAs
March 9, 2014
Eagles Strike First at UAAs with 7-3 Win over Wash U.
March 6, 2014
2014 UAA Baseball Championship Preview
March 5, 2014
Emory Rally Falls Short in 7-6 Loss to Oglethorpe
March 4, 2014
Peacock Named to D3Baseball.com Team of the Week
March 2, 2014
Peacock Hits Third HR in 14-2 Emory Rout of Rochester
February 26, 2014
Baseball to Wrap-Up Home Stand against Rochester (Mich.)
February 25, 2014
Emory Bats Come Alive in 13-4 Win over Oglethorpe
February 24, 2014
Baseball Aims to Bounce Back against Oglethorpe
February 23, 2014
Rough Eighth Inning Sends Emory to 12-9 Defeat at Methodist
February 22, 2014
Eagles Shutout 1-0 at Methodist
February 21, 2014
Baseball to Face Methodist in Weekend Series
February 19, 2014
Emory Handles LaGrange in 10-4 Win
February 18, 2014
Lake Named to D3Baseball.com Team of the Week
February 18, 2014
Baseball to Host LaGrange in Midweek Matchup
February 17, 2014
Iturrey & Hansen Selected as UAA Hitter & Pitcher of the Week
February 16, 2014
Emory Splits Sunday Doubleheader at Piedmont
February 15, 2014
Eagles to Play Doubleheader at Piedmont on Sunday
February 15, 2014
Baseball Defeats Piedmont 4-3 on Peacock’s Walk-Off Double
February 13, 2014
First Game of Emory Baseball Series vs. Piedmont Postponed
February 11, 2014
Baseball to Play Three against In-State Rival Piedmont
February 10, 2014
Lake & Dillman Named First UAA Baseball Players of the Week for 2014
February 9, 2014
Emory Baseball Wraps-Up Cali Trip with Win over Pomona-Pitzer
February 8, 2014
Emory Splits Doubleheader with 10th-Ranked Cal Lutheran
February 7, 2014
Emory Opens Season with 11-2 Win at Occidental
February 4, 2014
Emory Baseball Set to Open 2014 on West Coast this Weekend
February 3, 2014
Emory Baseball 2014 Season Preview