Five Eagles combined for the four-hit shutout as the Emory University baseball team began the 2020 season with an 8-0 victory over Virginia Wesleyan University Friday afternoon at Chappell Park in Atlanta.
Senior Richard Brereton went 5.1 scoreless frames as he recorded the win in his season debut. Brereton scattered three hits, three walks, two hit-by-pitches and struck five. At the dish, the Darien, CT native tallied a game-high three hits, going 3-for-4, driving in two runs and drawing a base-on-balls.
Junior Jack Rubenstein added two RBI for the Eagles, going 1-for-2 with a double. He added two more hit-by-pitches to his ledger, surpassing David Hissey for the program record with 34 in his career.
In addition to Brereton, three pitchers made their Emory debuts, tossing scoreless outings to combine for the shutout. Sophomore Joey Bock retired both batters he faced in the sixth before freshmen Aaron Mishoulam struck out the side in the seventh. Sophomore Dylan Kahn and freshman Justin Melton closed things out in the eighth and ninth frames, allowing just a walk between the pair and striking out two each.
Emory began things with a run in the home half of the first and never looked back. Sophomore Zeke Diamond drew a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded, forcing in senior Ryan Adelman from third.
The Eagles tacked on three more in the third with Rubenstein sending home Brereton and Adelman on a double to the left center gap. Freshman Jack Masonis collected his first RBI in the inning, knocking in Rubenstein on a fielder's choice.
Emory added two more runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to provide the 8-0 final margin. The win is the team's 10th straight in openers, improving to 22-8 overall in season openers.
The Eagles' opening weekend continues tomorrow afternoon as Emory battles No. 4 ranked Birmingham-Southern College in Demorest, GA. First pitch at Piedmont is scheduled for 1:00 PM. Please check emoryathletics.com for any scheduling updates.