A complete game effort by sophomore Richard Brereton lifted the Emory University Baseball program to a 5-2 victory over No.-13 Case Western Reserve University in the University Athletic Association opener for both teams.
Brereton was outstanding on the afternoon, holding the Spartans to just two runs on six hits in nine innings of work. He struck out six and walk two while tossing 131 pitches in the outing to improve to 2-3 on the campaign. The complete game was the first of the nine-inning variety for an Emory pitcher since Hans Hansen twirled a nine-inning shutout against Marietta in the NCAA Regionals on May 19th, 2016.
The second-year right-hander allowed a run to CWRU on a sac fly in the first inning before holding the Spartans scoreless for six innings until a Rocco Maue home run in the bottom of the eighth. Brereton saw the tying run come to the plate in the ninth as he allowed the first two men to reach base but sent down the next three batters he faced to earn the victory.
After falling behind 1-0 in the first, the Eagles scored twice in the second to take the lead for good. Freshman Michael Edelman doubled to plate junior Thomas Baumgartner before junior Jackson Grayson scored the go-ahead run on a ground out by senior Nick Chambers.
Sophomore Jacob Greene singled to score Chambers in the fifth inning as the Eagles moved in front by two. The lead remained 3-1 until the Maue homer in the eighth. In the ninth, Emory tacked on a pair of insurance runs as Edelman scored on a fielding error following an infield single by Brereton and Chambers coming home on a ground out by Greene.
Emory and Case Western Reserve continue their four-game series at Nobby's Ballpark in Cleveland, Ohio with a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch of the afternoon twin bill is set to start at 10:00 AM.