• 5 NCAA Championships Appearances
  • 16 NCAA Tournament Appearances
  • 12 UAA Championships
  • 15 Seasons Of 30 Or More Wins
  • 14 All-Americans
  • 6 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Recipients

No. 2 Emory Softball Gears Up For Road Doubleheaders at Piedmont & Maryville

No. 2 Emory Softball Gears Up For Road Doubleheaders at Piedmont & Maryville

The Emory University softball team, ranked No. 2 nationally among Division III programs, takes to the road for doubleheader action at Piedmont College on Thursday (Apr. 21) and at Maryville College on Saturday.  Action at Piedmont begins at 2:00 p.m. while Saturday’s first contest against the Scots is slated 1:00 p.m.

Emory stands 34-2-1 and has won its last seven contests.  In their most recent action, the Eagles posted a twin killing of Berry College last Saturday, capturing the first with a tight eight-inning 5-4 decision in before registering a 10-6 victory in the finale.  Junior left fielder Jessica Thomas keyed the second-game triumph, going 3-for-5 at the plate, with a pair of doubles and a two-run homer, while totaling four RBIs.  Her two-run shot was the ninth of the season, establishing a school record for most round trippers. Her nine homers places her 28th nationally among Division III performers.  Freshman Megan Light enjoyed a productive two games, collecting four hits in seven trips to the plate and scoring three runs while notching one RBI in each outing.  Light has already set a school record for most ribbies in a season with 52 and has driven in two or more runs on 14 occasions in 2011. Freshman pitcher Lena Brottman recorded her 14th win in 15 decisions in the opener, tossing all eight innings and striking out seven.  Brottman, along with teammate Bridget Holloway, is tied for 19th place nationally with 14 victories in the circle. 

Emory has outscored its opponents by a 267-68 margin this season and figures prominently on the national scene in a number of categories.  In NCAA stats released Apr. 17, the Eagles rank 20th among all D-III teams with a .362 hitting mark.  The team is churning out 7.22 runs per contest, 34th nationally, and its .545 slugging percentage is good for 14th.  Emory has been sound defensively, ranking ninth nationally in fielding percentage (.973). 

Piedmont, coached by Terry Martin, has won its last seven games and will host Emory with an overall record of 22-10.  The Lions clinched the Great South Athletic Conference regular-season championship last Sunday following a doubleheader sweep of Maryville, 9-1 and 8-0.  Piedmont owns a team hitting mark of .325 and has outscored its opponents by a 184-82 margin.  Emory hosted Piedmont earlier this year (Mar. 23), and came away with 4-3 and 5-0 victories.

The Scots of Maryville enter Saturday’s contests with a won-lost ledger of 12-16.  Led by second-year head coach Kim Woodard, Maryville is hitting an impressive .337 as a team.  Emory played Maryville earlier this season (Feb. 19 & 20) and chalked up 7-0, 11-1 victories.