The Emory softball team rode the arm of pitcher Brittany File in posting a Friday doubleheader sweep at New York University. Emory opened the day with a five-inning, 13-1 triumph before edging the Violets in the nightcap by a 2-1 count. The Eagles now stand 25-13 in overall play, 8-6 in the University Athletic Association, while NYU slumps to 17-15 in overall affairs, 4-6 in the conference.
File tossed all 12 innings over the course of the two contests, allowing just one earned run, four hits and striking out 22.
GAME 1 – EMORY 13, NYU 1 (5 inn.)
** Emory's offense comes alive with a season-high 16 hits, the 17th time this year the Eagles had 10 or more safeties in a game.
** Seniors Amy Wray and Taylor Forte combine for seven hits and six RBIs.
** Wray goes for 4-for-4 with three RBIs while Forte tallies three hits in four plate appearances with three runs driven in.
** It represented Forte's team-high 16th multi-hit contest of the campaign and Wray's sixth effort of two or more RBIs.
** Emory explodes with seven runs in the top of the first – the first three Eagles single to load the bases, setting the stage for Wray to smack a two-run single to ignite the frame.
** Other key blows in the first are a two-run double by Janelle Turnquest, followed by a run-producing single by sophomore Sam Vincent that ups Emory to a 5-0 lead.
** Later in the first, a two-run single by sophomore Cassie Baca propels Emory to a 7-0 advantage.
** The Eagles tack on three more runs in the second – a bases-loaded walk to Lana Herrmann allows Turnquest to cross the plate while a two-run single by Forte provides the Eagles with a 10-1 cushion.
** Emory closes out its run production in the fourth as Forte, freshman Jessie Michael and Wray all come through with run-producing singles.
** Senior pitcher Brittany File tosses all five innings in picking up the win and raising her season mark to 12-4. File allows just one hit and fans 11 Violets.
GAME 2 – EMORY 2, NYU 1
** The game develops into a pitching duel between File and NYU's Cassi Parulis with the pair combining to allow just eight hits.
** File crafts her 11th complete game of the year in 13 starts, allowing four hits while coming through with another 11-strikeout performance, her fourth double-figure effort of the season.
** Over her last 33 2/3 innings of work, File has allowed just two earned runs and fanned 50 opponents.
** Emory accounts for all of its scoring in the second with a pair of unearned runs. Janelle Turnquest scored from second as a result of a throwing error when Sam Vincent laid down a sacrifice bunt. A groundout RBI by sophomore Sarah Flanders would later score Kinsey Glasgow.
** File is the recipient of some heads-up defensive play by her teammates over the final few innings. A double by the Violets' Ashley Mains plated their first run, but a laser throw by left fielder Taylor Forte gunned down the potential tying score. In the bottom of the seventh, Mains leads off with a single and then is lifted for a pinch runner. Emory catcher Lana Herrmann and first baseman Ashley Powers then team up for a pick-off that clears the bases.
Emory closes out the four-game series with NYU on Saturday with a twinbill that starts at 6:00 pm.