The #7/8 Emory University baseball team closed out the 2016 regular season on Sunday afternoon, falling to Piedmont College 10-4 in Demorest, GA. The Eagles drop to 30-10 overall while the Lions finish their season at 21-19.
Junior Brian Hernandez went 1-for-5 at the plate, driving two runs to lead the team. Sophomore Nick Chambers was 2-for-2 with a double, walk and run scored. Senior David Coble and sophomore Mitch Kerner collected RBI as well for the Eagles.
Junior Jackson Weeg, coming off an outstanding 10-strikeout performance against Oglethorpe on Tuesday, battled through five innings on Sunday. Weeg finished with a line of four runs on seven hits, three walks and five strikeouts. Freshman Billy Dimlow was handed his second loss of his career, allowing six runs (3 ER) in 2.2 innings in relief of Weeg. Dimlow had just one punch out compared to two free passes.
Emory jumped out to a 4-0 lead, scoring all four runs in the second inning, but the Piedmont bullpen kept the Emory offense in check over the final seven innings.
Kerner led things off with a bases loaded single to plate senior Chris Slivka in the second. Coble worked a bases loaded walk with one out, forcing home Chambers to make it 2-0. Hernandez doubled the Emory lead to 4-0 with a two-run single to left with two outs to bring home sophomore Bubby Terp and Kerner.
The Lions answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning to cut the deficit to 4-2 before scoring one run in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to take a 5-4 lead.
The Eagles threatened in the top of the eighth inning, loading the bases with just one out. However, Piedmont reliever Allen Tokarz struck out Kerner and junior Philip Maldari to end the threat. In the bottom of the eighth, the Lions broke open the contest, scoring five times in the inning off Dimlow. Only two of the five runs were earned in the frame because of a fielding error.
Emory now awaits word for its draw in the 2016 NCAA Division III tournament. Brackets will be released on Sunday, May 15th so stay tuned to emoryathletics.com for more information regarding dates and times.