The Emory softball team exploded for 16 runs in registering a second-game win and a split of a doubleheader Thursday afternoon against No. 7-ranked Virginia Wesleyan Thursday afternoon.  After seeing the Marlins post a 9-5 victory in eight innings in the opener, the No. 15 Eagles responded with a 16-6 triumph in five innings over VWC in the finale.  Emory stands 27-5 on the year while Virginia Wesleyan claims a 16-2 won-lost mark.

The Eagles battered the Marlins with a 10-run first inning in the nightcap, sending 14 batters to the plate.  Holding a 5-1 advantage, a bases-loaded triple by senior Ally Kersthold broke the game wide open, with Kersthold later scoring on a single by senior Claire Bailey.  After VWC drew to within a 10-5 count after crossing the plate four times in its half of the second, the Eagles extended their lead by pushing four runs across in the bottom of the third with a two-run double by junior Micah Scharff the big blow.  Light socked a two-run homer in the fourth inning, her eighth of the campaign, in the fourth that proved to be the game's final scoring.  Bailey went 3-for-3 at the plate and scored three runs while Light, sophomore Hannah Sendel, freshmen Tara Fallahee and Taylor Forte and senior Lauren Gorodetsky all collected two hits.  Emory's 16 runs represented its second-highest run total of the year and the 10^th occasion it reached the double-figures plateau.

In the opener, after the teams battled through four scoreless innings, the Eagles got on the board first with a run in the fifth when a two-out single by Kersthold scored Scharff.  Kersthold finished the game by hitting safely in all three of her trips to the plate.  After the Marlins scored twice in the top of the sixth to take the lead, Emory answered with two runs in its half of the frame with Light leading off with a gigantic homer to center.   Later, Scharff came through with a two-out single to score pinch-runner Cortney Sugihara. A two-run homer by the Marlins' Kayla Dost keyed a three-run seventh that allowed the visitors to claim a 5-3 lead, but the Eagles battled back with RBIs from Light and Sendel to force extra innings.  Using the tie-breaker format, VWC scored four times in the eighth and held Emory scoreless in its at-bat in securing the win.

Emory returns to action on Thursday (Mar. 27) when it plays a pair of games at Lynchburg College.