The Emory University softball team won both of its opening games in the NFCA Division III Leadoff Classic at Lincoln Park in Tuscon, Arizona. The Eagles defeated St. Benedict 6-2 in the first game of the day, then beat LeTourneau 12-0 in game two.
Junior Madison Schaefer posted her third complete-game win of the season against the Bennies. The lefty did not give up a run to St. Benedict until the top of the sixth inning, when sophomore infielder Olivia McCabe hit a home run to plate a pair of runs. Only one of those two runs were charged to Schaefer, as the leadoff runner reached on an error. Schaefer spread five hits across her seven innings of work and did not allow a walk all day. A couple of errors by St. Benedict in the third inning gave the Eagles the opportunity to strike first and take an early 2-0 lead, as senior Greta Wilker and sophomore Drew Bullock scored on misplays committed by St. Benedict. Sophomore Megan Wesienberg had herself another productive day in the cleanup spot for the Eagles. The right fielder ripped a two-run triple in the bottom of the fifth to add two more RBI to her total. The Bennies would get their only two runs of the game from the McCabe homer in the next half-inning, before the Eagles added two runs in their half of the sixth on a single by senior Jessy McLean and a groundout by Mattie Ryan.
Freshman Trinity Pizutti got the first win of her career and benefitted from an offensive explosion from her team to open the second matchup of the day. The LeTourneau starter issued four walks and hit two batters in the top of the first inning to allow Emory to post nine runs on four hits. Extra-base hits from Ryan, McLean, and Wilker in the inning led to six runs for the Eagles. Ryan and Wilker each had two-run doubles, while McLean's two-base hit drove in just one run. A single from senior leadoff hitter Sarah Katz chased a pair of runners home, as the Eagles batted around in the opening frame. Emory would add runs in the fourth and fifth innings, making the score 12-0 and allowing the game to end after five innings by virtue of the run-rule. Ryan had three doubles in her four at-bats, which accounted for two RBI and two runs scored. Wilker went 1-3 at the plate and recorded all three of her RBI in the first inning, as she hit the two-run double and a sacrifice fly in the frame. Katz, Ryan, and sophomore Natalie Arreguin all found their way around the bases to score two runs each. Senior Sami Feller started the game in the circle, operating as an opener against LeTourneau. The pitcher, who plays the outfield for the Eagles when shes not serving as one half of the battery, also relieved the first-year Pizutti in the bottom of the fifth. The freshman gave up just two hits and retired one batter on strikes to go with her two walks allowed. Feller tossed two innings, struck out two batters, and did not allow a run. She also had an RBI triple at the plate.
The NFCA Leadoff Classic is an invitation-only event that is held each year and regularly attracts a collection of some of the best teams in the country. This season, each of the top five teams in DIII will be on hand, and four teams from the rest of the top-25 will also be making the trip to Arizona. The Eagles are participating in the tournament for the first time and is one of 24 teams in attendance. Tomorrow's slate of games appears to be the toughest assignment of the tournament for Emory, as it squares off with No. 4 East Texas Baptist University at 6:00 p.m. MST, before it tangles with 14th-ranked St. Thomas (Minn.) right after. Head Coach Adrianna Baggeta's squad begins the final day of the Leadoff Classic on Sunday at 11:00 a.m., when the Eagles go toe-to-toe with Linfield, the third-best team in the nation. The club will close its six-game weekend with St. John Fisher at 1:00 p.m.
Following the NFCA Leadoff Classic, the Emory softball team will remain in Arizona for a pair of games that will be played on Tuesday at 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. MST. Emory will get a rematch against the defending NCAA Champion in the first game that day, No. 1 Texas Lutheran, before it wraps up the road trip with a matchup with Dickinson in the 11:00 a.m. affair.