Top-Ranked Eagles Stay Undefeated with 6-5 Win at Berry

Top-Ranked Eagles Stay Undefeated with 6-5 Win at Berry

The No.-1 ranked Emory University Baseball team closed out the month of February with a perfect 11-0 record following a 6-5 victory against in-state foe Berry College Tuesday evening at William R. Bowdoin Field in Rome, GA. With the defeat, the Vikings slipped to 7-4.

Freshman Richard Brereton and senior Kyle Monk combined to toss 4.2 scoreless innings in relief to help Emory notch its 11th consecutive win, tying the 1996 squad for the fourth longest winning streak in program history.

Brereton improved to 2-0 with 2.2 innings of one-hit ball. He struck out three and did not walk a batter. Monk recorded his third save of the year with two shutout innings to go along with three punch outs. With the save, Monk moved into a tie with Mount Saint Joseph's Steve Maltre ('09) for fifth-place all-time in NCAA Division III history with 32 career saves.

Freshman Christopher Stern snapped a 5-5 tie in the top of the eighth with a sac fly to score sophomore Jackson Grayson. Senior Brian Hernandez led off the frame with a single and stole second before being lifted for Grayson. Senior Chris Young and sophomore NJ Kim proceeded to load the bases with a single and walk prior to Stern driving in the go-ahead run with his fly ball to right.

Through the first five innings, the contest was a back-and-forth affair as the two clubs combined for 10 runs.

The Vikings saw two of their first three batters register doubles against Emory starter senior Philip Maldari as Berry took a 1-0 lead in the home half of the first inning. The Eagles answered with two runs in the third as senior Jeff Ronpirin delivered a two-out two-run double to plate Stern and senior Wilson Morgan.

Berry regained the lead with a run in third and two more in the fourth to build a 4-2 advantage. However, Emory responded again with three runs in the top of the fifth to move in front 5-4. Sophomore David Draper singled to left field to bring home Stern while freshman Ryan Adelman also scored on the play thanks to an error by the Vikings left fielder. Hernandez followed later in the inning with a single to left center to plate Draper, breaking the tie.

BC got a run back in the bottom half of the fifth with a double down the left field line by Alfred Francis off of Brereton. The game then turned into a battle of the bullpens as Brereton and mound mate freshman Jackson Bryd traded zeroes until Stern's sac fly in the eighth.

Emory continues its three-game road swing with two games in Jackson, Mississippi this Saturday and Sunday against Millsaps College.