The Emory baseball team (9-6) continued its offensive tear on Sunday afternoon, taking on the Huntingdon Hawks at Chappell Park in Atlanta, Georgia. On the back of 12 runs and a dominant start from sophomore Josh Zuckerman, the Eagles took down the Hawks 12-2, with the game being called in the seventh inning.
The heart of the Emory lineup delivered on Sunday, with junior Blake Dincman leading the way with a 4-for-4 day at the dish and driving in two runs. Junior Jack Halloran wasn't far behind, as he went 2-for-4 with a double, triple and three RBI. Halloran has now recorded an RBI in 10 straight games, tallying 20 total over that stretch to bring his season total to 26. Freshman Trevor McAndrews recorded three RBI on two hits as well. The two through five batters in the Emory lineup went a combined 10-for-16 and drove in five RBI.
Zuckerman's start to the day was a bit rocky, walking the leadoff batter and plunking the next. A sacrifice bunt moved two into scoring position for the Hawks. Yet, Zuckerman reared back and punched out the next batter before forcing the next batter to lineout to halt the Hawks' first-inning threat.
The game remained scoreless through three innings, with both starting pitchers making quick work of the other team's lineup. Huntingdon struck first in the top of the fourth, when the leadoff batter swatted a double into left center before being brought home with a single just a couple of batters later to take a 1-0 lead over the Eagles.
The Huntingdon lead did not last long, though. In the second time the through the order, the Eagles got to the reigning NCBWA Rookie of the Week, freshman JB Landrum, with a five-run bottom of the fourth. Freshman Jake Lawson got it started for Emory with a one-out single into right center. Huntingdon gave Emory an extra life, though, when the Hawks' shortstop botched a possible inning-ending double play ball to extend the inning.
With Halloran on deck, the mistake proved costly as the junior slugged a double to drive in two and give the Eagles their first runs of the day. McAndrews came through with a two-out, two RBI single a couple of batters later before senior Steven Hunt drove in one more for good measure to give Emory a 5-1 lead.
Halloran came back around for the Eagles in the bottom of the fifth and hammered a triple off the top of the wall in right center to bring around another run. Dincman followed that up with a single to add another, giving the Eagles and Zuckerman a comfortable 7-1 lead.
With the lead, Zuckerman cruised through the Huntingdon lineup. Outside of the bumpy start and blemish in the top of the fourth, he was dominant. The sophomore worked into the seventh inning for the first time in his career, as he went 6.2 innings, surrendering one earned run on six hits and two walks. He also sat down an impressive eight batters via the strikeout, bringing his total over his last two starts to 19 after striking out career-high 11 against Covenant last weekend.
The Hawks tacked on one more in the top of the seventh to cut into the Eagles' lead, but another five-run inning in the bottom half secured a mercy rule win for Emory. The Eagles walked it off via the walk on Sunday when senior Jacob Grossman worked a bases-loaded walk to bring across Emory's 12th and final run of the game.
With the win, the Eagles extend their winning streak to four games and have scored an impressive 43 runs over that stretch. The Eagles will look to keep it rolling this week as they gear up for four games over the next seven days. Emory will start on the road against No. 4 ranked Birmingham-Southern before playing a three-game set against Piedmont over the weekend. The series with Piedmont will see Emory take the road for two games and host the middle game of the series on Saturday. First pitch for Emory's game against No. 4 Birmingham-Southern is scheduled for 6:00 PM on Tuesday.