The Emory University softball team notched two wins against the LaGrange Panthers in their season opener with both offense and defense showing their strengths.
The first matchup of the season saw 11 innings before freshman Ella Hoyle hit a walk-off double in the bottom of the inning. Freshman Mackenzie Duford pitched the ultimate pitchers' duel in the first game, facing 46 batters over 11 innings of work.
The Eagles offense was unstoppable in the second game, recording 11 hits and 12 runs before ending in the fifth inning due to the run rule.
Game 1 – Emory 4, LaGrange 3 (11 innings)
The first two innings were nothing short of a battle against pitchers with neither team scoring until the third inning. The Eagles jumped to an early start in the bottom of the third with senior Tyler Miller recording her first RBI of the game with a single to left field to score freshman Ashley Chu. Two innings later, Miller drove a two-run shot over the left field wall to give Emory a 3-0 lead in the fifth.
The Panthers followed with a rally of their own, scoring three runs in the top of the sixth. Once again, a pitchers' duel continued between Duford and LaGrange's Claire Chamberlain and the game was taken into extras.
Junior Natalie Swift started the bottom of the 11th with a single to left field. With two outs, Hoyle led the Eagles to their first victory of the season with a double to right-center field to score Swift.
Game 2 – Emory 12, LaGrange 3 (5 innings)
The Eagles found their offensive voice in the second game scoring 12 runs on 11 hits through five innings of play.
Emory jumped to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning after the first error from the LaGrange defense, but the Panthers answered with two runs of their own in the top of the second.
The Eagles exploded in the third inning scoring 10 runs with nine of their hits coming in the frame. LaGrange committed two more errors in the third inning but would commit four more bringing their total for the game to seven.
Emory recorded another run in the fourth inning and finished the game in the top of the fifth with the run rule in effect.
Miller was a standout on the offensive with her seven RBIs and five hits showing her leadership to her young teammates. Duford proved to be a force to be reckoned with, allowing zero walks and six strikeouts in her collegiate debut.
The Eagles will return to Cooper Field tomorrow, Sunday, February 19 to face west coast foe Pacific Lutheran in a doubleheader beginning at 12 pm.