The Emory University baseball team moved one step closer to clinching at least a share of the UAA title Saturday afternoon, sweeping the Senior Day doubleheader against Brandeis University at Chappell Park in Atlanta.
Prior to the start of game one, the Eagles honored their eight-member senior class of Jack Brodsky, Zeke Diamond, Dylan Kahn, Jack Moore, Ethan Shear, Kyle Sulkowski, Robby Wacker and Bryant Wise will a special on-field ceremony.
The Eagles will head into the final game of the regular season tied atop the UAA standings with Case Western Reserve at 11-4 and can clinch the outright UAA title Sunday afternoon with a win and CWRU loss or can clinch a share of the UAA crown if both teams share the same result on Sunday. The Spartans, who swept WashU with two walk offs Saturday, will get underway with the Bears at 11:00 AM in Cleveland while the Eagles and Judges are set to conclude their series with a 1:00 PM start time.
Game 1 – Emory 2, Brandeis 1
Emory's Joey Bock and Brandeis' Mason Newman linked up in a classic pitcher's duel with the Eagles clipping the Judges with a late-inning run for the win.
Bock was stellar in the outing, allowing one run on six hits and a walk and did not allow an extra base hit. He struck out five to win his fourth game of the year. On the other side, Newman went the distance, giving up two runs on seven hits while striking out four across his eight innings of work.
Friday's hero Walker Woolf once again came through with another big hit, breaking a scoreless tie with his run-scoring single in the fourth before seeing Brandeis answer right back with a run in the fifth.
The score remained tied at one until the seventh inning when freshman Brok Liu delivered a pinch-hit go-ahead single, plating Jack Masonis with the eventual game-winning run.
Junior Aaron Mishoulam was flawless in his two innings of work, retiring all six batters including the final four he faced by way of the strikeout to earn his fourth save of the season.
Game 2 – Emory 13, Brandeis 9
The offensive slugfest that we saw in game one returned in the second game on Saturday as the teams combined for 22 runs including 18 within the game's first four innings.
After being held to a single run in the first game of the afternoon, the Judges put up a three-spot immediately in the first inning, highlighted by a two-run double by third basemen Victor Oppenheimer.
The deficit was short-lived however as the Eagles responded with five in the home half of the first, taking advantage of two costly errors by Oppenheimer in the field. Junior Henry Pelinski had the big hit in the frame, scoring two with his single down the left field line.
The Eagles tacked on four more in the second and third innings before the Judges rallied with a big inning of their own in the fourth, sending 10 men to the plate with six coming around to score to tie the game at 9-9.
The game remained deadlocked until the sixth when freshman Jack Halloran scampered home on a wild pitch to score the go-ahead run. Pelinski put another run on the board in the seventh with a sac fly before Emory put the game out of reach in the eighth with a bases loaded walk drawn by Diamond followed by another sac fly, this time from Masonis.
The relief corps of Kahn and Sulkowski were outstanding to help the Eagles clinch the series as the duo combined for four hitless innings. Kahn earned his second win as he allowed two walks in his strong 2.1 innings of work. Sulkowski picked up his third save, striking out two and issuing a pair of walks in his 1.2 innings.