The Emory University baseball team brought the go ahead run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth but ultimately fell short as the Eagles dropped the second game of the series to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 12-9, at Chappell Park in Atlanta.
Emory loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth, bringing senior Robby Wacker to the plate acting as the winning run. However, Stags' closer Lalo Beron was able to get Wacker to hit a pop up in the infield for the final out of the ballgame.
Sophomore Steven Hunt continued to produce at the plate, going 4-for-4 falling a triple shy of the cycle while driving in four runs. Junior Ellis Schwartz had a double, two RBI and two walks and fellow junior Henry Pelinski was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
Both teams were able to get to each opposing starting pitcher early as the game was tied at five through four as both Joey Bock and Jarrett Korson were tagged with five runs with neither pitcher reaching the fifth frame.
The Stags' breakthrough inning came in the sixth as CMS batted around, scoring six times to move in front 11-5.
The Eagles had mini rallies in the sixth and seventh innings, scoring twice in each frame to crawl back to within two. In the sixth, Wacker singled home Jack Masonis before Zeke Diamond scored on a fielder's choice. The next inning led off with solo home run off the bat of Hunt before Schwartz brought home Josh Katz with a run-scoring groundout.
Neither side did much in the eighth but CMS earned a big insurance run in the ninth as three straight singles off Aaron Mishoulam made it 12-9 visitors.
Last licks for Emory featured a leadoff walk to Hunt but back-to-back strikeouts pushed the Eagles to their final out. Schwartz worked a walk to keep the inning alive prior to Diamond legging out an infield single to bring Wacker's spot in the lineup to the plate. Beron won the battle on the third pitch of the at bat to pull the Stags even in the series.
The rubber match of the series is set for Sunday afternoon with first pitch from Chappell Park scheduled for 12:00 PM.