#3 Eagles Suffer 5-3 Setback to Berry in Home Opener

#3 Eagles Suffer 5-3 Setback to Berry in Home Opener

The third-ranked Emory University baseball team suffered a 5-3 setback to the Berry College Vikings on Tuesday afternoon at Chappell Park. With the loss, the Eagles slipped to 3-2 on the year while Berry improved to 7-0.

Senior Dylan Eisner was one of five Emory batters to tally two or more base hits in the game, going 3-for-4 with one run scored. Junior DH Brian Hernandez ran his team-leading hitting streak to five games with another multi-hit effort, going 2-for-5 with two RBIs.

Emory used seven different pitchers in the contest with starter Tyler Sprague being handed his first loss of the season. The senior righty worked 2.2 innings, allowing two runs on three hits. He struck out two and issued just one walk.

The Vikings scored first as Jacob Delk homered down the left field line with one out in the second inning. An inning later, Berry increased their lead to 2-0 as Slade Dale singled up the middle to plate Devin Post.

In the bottom of the third, the Eagles responded as Eisner had a two-out double and Hernandez brought him home with double into right center.

Following Berry pushing across one run in both the sixth and seventh innings to go in front 4-1, Emory bounced back with two of their own in bottom of the seventh. Freshman David Draper, who pinch ran for junior Ben Vizvary, scored on a wild pitch and later in the frame, Hernandez drove in his second run, plating freshman Jackson Grayson who was used as a pinch runner for senior Chris Slivka.

In the bottom of the ninth, Emory had two on with two outs with their hottest hitter coming to plate in Hernandez. Berry's John Melson, looking for his first save of the year, won the battle as he was able to get the Emory designated hitter to ground into the 1-3 putout to end the game.

The Eagles will look to get back into the win column as they host Ferrum for a three game set this weekend. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 Pm on Friday afternoon and 1:00 PM on both Saturday and Sunday.