The Emory softball team closed a six-game spring break road trip Friday afternoon by coming out on the short end of both games of a doubleheader against No. 1-ranked Virginia Wesleyan. The Marlins saw their record improve to 16-0 following a 5-0 triumph in the opener followed by a five-inning 9-1 verdict over the Eagles who slipped to 7-7.
In the nightcap, after both teams went scoreless in the first inning, Virginia Wesleyan broke the game wide open by crossing the plate eight times in the second frame, collecting a total of eight hits while sending 14 batters to the plate. The Marlins pushed across six runs with two out, with Amy Large and Daja Burgee each coming through with two-run RBI singles. Emory generated its tally in the fourth when freshman Allie Moberg delivered a two-out single that plated sophomore Jessy McLean. Junior center fielder Jenna Wilson accounted for two of the Eagles' six safeties, her second multi-hit outing of the year. Freshman pitcher Carla Hall pocketed the victory for Virginia Wesleyan, her fourth in as many decisions, while junior Toko Miller took the defeat, evening her record at 2-2.
In the first contest, the Marlins' Hanna Hull stymied the Emory bats, going the distance in the circle and allowing just one hit, a one-out single by Greta Wilker in the fifth inning. Hull fanned seven Eagles in raising her season record to 9-0. Virginia Wesleyan scored single runs in the first, second, fourth, fifth and sixth innings, closing out the contest with eight hits. Freshman Jacqueline Spizizen was saddled with the loss, dropping her season record at 4-4, after surrendering six hits and three runs over 3 1/3 innings of work.
The Eagles return to action on Thursday (Mar. 22) when they play a doubleheader at Wesleyan College (Macon, GA) starting at 5:00 pm.