The Emory University baseball team held on to defeat in-state rival Piedmont College, 9-8, Wednesday afternoon at Chappell Park, giving the Eagles their fifth win in a row. The loss snaps the Lions' six-game winning streak, dropping them to 6-4 overall.
Down two starters in the lineup, the Emory University baseball team's offense did not skip a beat, plating at least seven runs for the fifth straight contest and for the sixth time in 2020. And for the second time in four games, the Eagles saw all nine members of the starting lineup record at least one hit as they pushed across nine runs on 14 hits.
Junior Jack Rubenstein had a team-high three hits, going 3-for-4 with one RBI, two runs and a stolen base. Classmates Michael Edelman, Jacob Singer and Jake Kessinger all collected two hits each with Kessinger driving in a game-high two runs.
Freshman Aaron Mishoulam tossed 2.2 innings in relief as he recorded his first career win. He allowed one run on three hits and one walk while striking out two batters.
The Eagles jumped out to an early lead, scoring in every inning to begin the game and led 6-0 at the end of three innings. Piedmont cut into the lead, taking advantage of four walks in the fourth to plate three and make it 6-3 ballgame.
Following another RBI thanks to a Kessinger single in the fifth, Piedmont tied the game with a two-run triple by Harrison Trawick in the sixth and back-to-back bases loaded walks in the seventh. The Lions threatened for more in the seventh with the bases still juiced and only one out but Mishoulam was able to escape the jam, striking out the first batter he faced before forcing an inning-ending ground out to the next hitter.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Eagles were able to regain the lead, capitalizing with a pair of unearned runs. The first two batters reached via errors before senior Ryan Adelman scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. Junior Caleb Shulman came around for the team's ninth run as Singer singled through the right side to bring him home.
Piedmont did not go quietly, beginning the ninth inning with back-to-back hits off Mishoulam to bring the game to one at 9-8 with a single then a run-scoring double. Mishoulam got the next batter to pop up before walking the following batter to make it runners on first and second with only one out. The freshman did not quiver, retiring the next two men via a fly out and ground out to clinch the victory.
Another USA South member is on deck for the Eagles as the team takes on Covenant College in a three-game series. First game of the weekend set is scheduled for 2:00 PM Friday afternoon in Lookout Mountain, GA before a Saturday doubleheader at Chappell Park, starting at 12:00 PM.