The No. 2-ranked Emory softball team returns to action on Tuesday (Apr. 9) when it plays a doubleheader at No. 11 Piedmont College. Action at the Walker Softball Field begins at 4:00 pm.
The Eagles of head coach Penny Siqueiros, 37-1 on the season, head into Tuesday's clash with an 18-game winning streak. In its most recent outing, Emory captured three games at the Salute To The Troops Tournament (Mar. 30-31) hosted by Rhodes College. Junior pitcher Amanda Kardys earned all three victories and raised her won-lost ledger to 22-1 with her victory total establishing a school seasonal mark, bettering the previous standard of 21 held by Shanon Andersen. Junior Megan Light socked a total of four home runs off the pitching staffs of the host Lynx and Fontbonne University, and in the process became the school's all-time leader with 27 round trippers, topping Jessica Thomas who finished off her career with 26 homers. Light has totaled 11 home runs this year tying the school's single-season mark.
Light, one of two players to have started all 38 games, paces the Eagles and is third among UAA players in hitting with a mark of .423 (44-104). In addition, Light leads the conference in homers, runs (38), RBIs (49) and doubles (12). Freshman Alyssa Pollard is hitting at a .393 clip (35-89) and is second on the team with 11 multi-hit games.
In the pitching department, freshman Sydney Carpenter and junior Lena Brottman have complemented Kardys, with the pair combining for 13 wins. Carpenter, the owner of a 6-0 record and a classy ERA of 1.44, is third in the league with 78 strikeouts over 53 1/3 innings of action. Brottman stands 7-0 in the circle with an ERA of 1.60 in her 39 1/3 innings of work.
A member of the USA South Conference, Piedmont is led by 15th-year head coach Terry Martin. The Lions will entertain Emory with four straight wins including 7-0 and 8-0 decisions on Sunday over Peace University. Sophomore Olivia Duncan (.436) and senior Megan McClain (.396) are the squad's top two hitters with the former standing second on the team in RBIs (32) and doubles (7) while McClain has rapped out a club-best 46 hits including five triples.