The Emory University Baseball team rallied from a two-run deficit to defeat Huntingdon College, 9-6, Sunday afternoon at Chappell Park in Atlanta, GA. With the win, the Eagles have now won 10 straight games to improve to 10-0 on the year while the Hawks slipped to 2-10 overall.
Emory trailed 6-4 entering the bottom of the seventh but regained the lead with four runs in the frame. With sophomores NJ Kim and David Draper on the corners with one out, seniors Jeff Ronpirin and Brian Hernandez delivered back-to-back singles to tie the game at 6-6. After a Huntingdon pitching change, senior Philip Maldari smacked a 2-1 offering from Logan Gildea into center field to bring around Ronpirin and Hernandez to put Emory back in front at 8-6.
The Eagles tacked on an insurance run in the eighth as junior Josh Rosenblatt drove in senior Chris Young with a pinch hit single to make it a 9-6 ballgame.
The three-run lead was more than enough support for senior Kyle Monk who was dominate out of the pen to collect his second save of the season. All six of his outs were recorded via the strikeout with the senior allowing just one hit and one walk in his two shutout innings.
Freshman Richard Brereton picked up his first win of his career in relief of starter senior Luke Emmett. Brereton saw the first man he faced reach by an error before sending down the next four batters that came to the plate.
The middle of the Emory lineup featuring Ronpirin, Hernandez and Maldari contributed to eight of the nine Eagle runs on the afternoon with Ronpirin driving in a career-high four runs. He opened the scoring in Emory's four-run third inning with a bases-clearing triple and scored two pitches later as Hernandez singled to right field.
The Eagles will look to close out the month of February with an unblemished record as the team heads to Rome, GA to face Berry College Tuesday afternoon. First pitch is set for 4:00 PM.