For the third straight season and the sixth time in program history, the Emory University Baseball team is headed to the College World Series! The Eagles claimed the NCAA South Regional Championship with a 15-2 victory over the Shenandoah University Hornets on Sunday at Berry College in Mount Berry, GA.
Sophomore Bubby Terp was named the Most Outstanding Player of the regional tournament as he drove in 13 runs over the four game stretch and was 10-for-18 at the plate. Juniors Brian Hernandez, Chris Young and Hans Hansen were also selected to the All-Tournament team for their play during the regionals.
After Shenandoah plated two runs off starter senior Paul Merolla in the top of the first inning, it was all Emory as the Eagles scored 15 unanswered runs en route to the 13-run victory.
Following the two runs allowed in the first, Merolla settled into a grove and held the Hornets scoreless for the final six innings of the outing. The tall right-hander gave up just two runs (1 ER) on four hits and four walks in his seven innings of work to earn his fourth win of the season. He racked up three strikeouts.
At the plate, juniors Wilson Morgan, Philip Maldari, Hernandez, Terp, and freshman NJ Kim all drove in two runs apiece to lead the Emory offense. Senior David Coble went 3-for-4 with four runs scored and stole three bases in the contest. Morgan added five walks in the game which tied a single game school record.
In the bottom of the first trailing 2-0, Emory responded with a four spot thanks to two Shenandoah errors to take the lead that they would not relinquish at 4-2. Hernandez and Terp each collected an RBI in the frame.
The Eagles made it 5-2 in the fifth inning as Maldari brought home senior Dylan Eisner on a sac fly to left. In the sixth inning, Emory tacked on five more runs which broke open the game. Morgan tripled down the right field line to score Coble and freshman Jackson Grayson. Morgan later scored on a wild pitch to make it 8-2. Terp drove in another run with a single up the middle to plate Eisner and Maldari followed with a single through the left side to bring home Terp.
Emory was not done yet as in the seventh inning the offense scored twice more to give the Eagles a 10-run advantage. Hernandez scored sophomore Nick Chambers on a sac fly to center and Eisner poked one through the right side to plate Coble.
Emory put the finishing touches on the Hornets in the eighth inning with three more runs to provide the 15-2 final margin. Kim accounted for two of the three runs in the inning with a double down the right field line to score Coble and senior Jack Karras.
Junior Kyle Monk closed it out in the ninth, allowing just one base runner but erased him on the 4-6-3 double play to end the game. Monk added a strikeout to his ledger and ran his scoreless streak to 23.1 innings.
The Eagles now head to Appleton, WI for the 2016 NCAA Division III Baseball Championships and will open up play against the New York Regional Champ, Cortland State. Stay tuned to emoryathletics.com for more information regarding dates and times when made available during the week.