The Emory University baseball team dropped its conference opener to Case Western Reserve Friday afternoon, 12-5, at Chappell Park in Atlanta.

The Spartans scored twice in the first and led the rest of the way as the visitors improved to 15-5 (1-0 UAA) on the season and have won seven in a row. For the Eagles, Friday marked the end of their three-game winning streak as they fell to 13-10 (0-1 UAA).

CWRU had its offense cooking in the early stages of the game as the first three batters reached base against freshman JT Rattigan as the Spartans struck for two in the opening inning.

Trailing 3-0, the Eagles got a run on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third when senior Jacob Grossman's comebacker off the pitcher led to freshman Aidan Conley crossing home plate. Despite the run, CWRU added two more in the fourth to move ahead by 5-1.

Emory mounted its comeback in the sixth, scoring three times. The first four batters of the inning reached base with junior Jack Halloran driving in Emory's second run with a single up the middle. Junior Matthew Sicoli came across with the team's third run on a fielder's choice from sophomore Zach Wasserlauf. In the next plate appearance, Conley picked up a sac fly to score Halloran to bring the game to 5-4.

However, the Spartans diminished any further Emory threat as they responded with three runs in their next time at the plate. Halloran picked up another RBI with a double to dead center in the seventh, making it 8-5, but four more runs from CWRU in the eighth officially put the game out of reach.

Conley led the Emory offense with a 3-for-4 afternoon while Halloran drove in a pair as he went 2-for-3. Rattigan dropped his first decision in an Emory uniform as he allowed five runs (3 ER) in 3.1 innings. He struck out one and walked two.

The UAA opening series continues on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 12:00 PM. Fans can enjoy a community tailgate featuring free food and giveaways at the Campus Life Pavilion.