The Emory University softball team split Saturday's doubleheader against the Carnegie Mellon Tartans to bring its season record to 11-8 and 1-2 in UAA action.
The Eagles dropped the first contest before bouncing back strongly to earn a win in the second game. The two programs are back on the field for the final game of their four-game series tomorrow afternoon against the Tartans with first pitch set for noon at Cooper Field.
Game 1 - Emory 1, Carnegie Mellon 12 (5 Innings)
The Eagles were unable to battle the elements in an afternoon that had gusts of wind as high as 35 MPH that led to six errors and, ultimately, Emory's defeat. Sophomore Rachel Cocolis contributed the Eagles lone RBI and was one of two Eagles with an extra base hit. Graduate student Allie Moberg contributed the other double for Emory as she went 1-for-3 at the plate. Sophomore Natalie Swift drew the start in the circle for the Eagles and although she gave up just two earned runs in five innings pitched, took the loss to move her season record to 2-6.
The Eagles got off to a rocky start giving up four runs in the first inning of play on three errors that set the tone for the remainder of the game. After holding the Tartans scoreless in the second and third innings, Carnegie Mellon put the game out of reach plating another seven runs in the fourth. The Eagles offense started to click in the fourth and fifth innings as they managed to get five runners on base between the two innings, highlighted by Cocolis hitting an RBI double to left that scored Swift, but that was as much as the Eagles would muster before falling by the final margin.
Game 2 - Emory 6, Carnegie Mellon 2
The Eagles carried over their strong play at the end of the first game into the second contest as both the offense and defense upped their performances to help earn Emory its first conference win of the year.
Junior Tyler Miller had a stellar day going 2-for-3 at the plate as she collected a RBI and crossed the plate once herself. Senior Megan Weisenberg improved on her season batting average with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate. Senior Mattie Ryan made her series debut in the circle, spinning her sixth complete game of the season, while giving up just two runs to bring her record to 9-2.
The Eagles momentum from the end of the first game carried over quickly into the second game with the Eagles plating three runs in the home half of the first to jump out to a quick lead over the Tartans. A scoreless second and third inning wouldn't deter the Eagles as they put up another two runs in the fourth inning with sophomore Abby Sekoff earning a RBI on a play that allowed Swift to make an acrobatic play at the plate to score the first run of the inning.
Ryan held the Tartans scoreless through the first five innings allowing just three hits between them. The Tartans broke through to the scoring column in the sixth but it didn't take the Eagles long to respond as CMU pitching walked Cocolis with the bases loaded, plating Sekoff. The Tartans would score once more in the seventh but the Eagles remained unphased, calmly putting the game away on a pop up to third to earn the 6-2 victory.