The Emory & Henry College Softball Team (5-6) earned a pair of victories over Young Harris College (11-7) Sunday to take the series, two games to one. The Wasps won Sunday’s opener, 2-1, in walk-off fashion and picked up a 6-0 shutout in the final game.
Game Two – Emory & Henry 2, Young Harris 1
The Wasps got out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as junior first baseman Lydia Taylor (Salem, Va.) hit a solo home run to left-center. Both teams were able to get runners aboard through the middle portions of the contest but the defenses held strong.
With two outs in the top of the sixth, Young Harris’ Hannah Carey tied things up with a shot to left-center. The Wasps forced the Mountain Lions to strand a pair of runners in the frame. In the bottom of the sixth, E&H put a runner in scoring position but was unable to create the necessary offense to score.
In the bottom of the seventh, sophomore third baseman Ashlyn Rachon (Greeneville, Tenn.) hit the full-count offering down the left field line and off the top of the fence for the winning run, 2-1.
Junior right-hander Makayla Dowdy (Blacksburg, Va.) picked up the win, scattering one run on six hits while walking none. Grace Young of YHC took the loss, allowing two runs on eight hits with five strikeouts.
Game Three – Emory & Henry 6, Young Harris 0
Emory & Henry opened the scoring in the bottom of the second when junior pitcher Olivia Yates (Floyd, Va.) hit a ball over the wall in left-center. The Wasps made it a 2-0 lead in the third as sophomore second baseman Abigail Street (Glade Spring, Va.) tallied a solo home run of her own.
In the fourth, sophomore shortstop Rachel Hill (Stanardsville, Va.) drove in a run with a single up the middle for a 3-0 lead.
E&H capped the scoring in the sixth as Yates drilled her second round-tripper of the day, this time a two-run shot. Rachon also provided a second home run in the frame for the final 6-0 score.
Yates earned the shutout, with five hits and five walks while striking out two. Young Harris’ Kylie Ferguson was settled with the loss, permitting three runs on three hits with four strikeouts in 3.1 innings.
The Young Harris College Softball Team picked up a 10-2 win over Emory & Henry College on Saturday afternoon in the first game of a three-game series. The Mountain Lions belted five home runs in the victory.
The Mountain Lions got on the board with four runs in the top of the first inning all of which came by way of home runs. Hannah Carey started things off with a two-run shot down the left field line. Addie Heal and Avery Fielden each added solo round-trippers.
In the bottom of the frame, Emory & Henry responded with one run. With junior centerfielder Mackenzie Williams on third base, junior first baseman Lydia Taylor hit a sacrifice fly to right field.
The second saw YHC’s Shelby Duncan push the advantage to 5-1 when she hit a solo home run to left center. Duncan opened a four-run fourth for the Mountain Lions with a base hit to center. Grace Young highlighted the frame with a two-run single down the left field line, extending the margin to 9-1.
The Wasps got another run from Taylor’s bat in the fourth when she smoked a solo home run to right-center, making the score 9-2. The Mountain Lions answered in the top of the fifth with a home run by Hannah Rizzuto to put the “eight-run advantage” rule back into play. With E&H unable to score in the bottom of the fifth, the contest was called with a 10-2 final score.
Young Harris’ Emma Black earned the complete-game victory, allowing two runs on one hit and one walk with two strikeouts. Wasp sophomore Abigail Street took the loss with five runs on four hits in one-plus innings.
