The Emory University softball team, ranked No. 2 nationally among Division III programs, heads into the home stretch of the regular season starting on Saturday (Apr. 16) when it plays a doubleheader at Berry College.  Action at South Ford Field on the Vikings’ campus begins at noon.  Saturday’s double dip against Berry will start an eight-game road swing for the Emory squad.

Emory stands 32-2-1 after capturing six of seven games last week.  The Eagles opened by splitting a twinbill at Huntingdon College (Apr. 5), winning the opener, 5-3, before coming out on the short end of a 5-4 decision in the finale.  The Eagles then returned home and rattled off five wins last weekend, defeating LaGrange College, 3-1 and 2-0, on Friday before posting three wins on Saturday.  Emory swept Rhodes College by a 5-2 and 5-4 counts before registering a 13-0, five-inning triumph over Spelman College. 

Sophomore third baseman Dana Goodenough played a key offensive role during the week, hitting safely in all six of the games she saw action in and registering a hitting mark of .389 (7-for-18).  Goodenough knocked in four runs, including a pair of game winners, and crossed the plate a team-high five times. Goodenough currently owns the team’s longest current hitting streak at 10 games.  Junior pitcher Jaclyn Jacobi earned a pair of wins, both coming in relief. She tossed 4 1/3 innings of scoreless ball in the second LaGrange contest and followed that effort with 6 2/3 innings of work in the opener vs. Rhodes, allowing just four hits and no runs.

Emory has outscored its opponents by a 252-58 margin this season and figures prominently on the national scene in a number of categories.  In NCAA stats release Apr. 10, the Eagles rank 16^th among all D-III teams with a .364 hitting mark.  In addition, the squad holds down the No. 8 position in slugging percentage (.550) and is 30^th in scoring (7.2 ).  Emory has been sound defensively, ranking sixth nationally in fielding percentage (.975). 

Individually, freshman Megan Light continues to pace the club in hitting with a .475 average with that mark placing her 34^th in D-III.  Light, who has chalked up a team-high 15 multiple-hit contests, also stands 17^th nationally in RBIs (1.43 per game) and is 25^th in slugging percentage. 

Berry, coached by Cori Thiermann, will meet Emory with an overall record of 19-11 but has dropped its last four games.  In their most recent outing, the Vikings dropped both games of a doubleheader at Young Harris on Wednesday of this week by 1-0 and 3-2 scores.