Emory University senior Patrick Riebsame hit a go-ahead walk-off two-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Eagles a 9-8 win over Washington University (Mo.) and sole possession of the 2011 University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship.

Despite already clinching a share of the UAA Championship on Sunday night, the Eagles were looking to win the championship outright, and become the first team to go 5-1 or better at UAAs since 2006.  If the Eagles lost Monday's game, they would have shared the conference title with Case Western Reserve University and Washington.

Riebsame's game-winning blast capped off a tremendous come-from-behind win for the Eagles, who were being shutout 7-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, and trailed 8-6 entering the bottom of the ninth.

Emory's comeback began in the sixth, when Andrew Cohn hit a grand slam, his first home run of the season, to pull the Eagles back within three runs, and chase Bears' starter Adam Merzel from the game.  Emory added another run in the inning when Daniel Iturrey singled up the middle, scoring Kevin O'Connor, making the score 7-5.

O'Connor drove in a run of his own with a sacrifice fly an inning later, scoring Ryan Jones to bring the Eagles within a run, 7-6.  However, the Bears added an unearned run of their own in the top of the eighth, and Emory went scoreless in their half of the frame, giving Washington an 8-6 lead heading into the ninth.

After the Bears went scoreless in the top of the ninth, the Eagles went to work in the bottom of the ninth.  Freshman Brandon Hannon led the inning off with a base hit, and after a Cohn fly out, O'Connor singled to right field to move Hannon to third.  A fielder's choice for Jonathan Reilly scored Hannon, but O'Connor was retired at second on the play, leaving the Eagles with one out to work with.

However, Riebsame came to the plate against Washington's closer, H.T. Flanagan (working in his second game of the day), and hit an 0-1 deep over the wall in left centerfield for the game winner.

The walk-off home run was the first of the season by an Eagle, and arguably the most impactful home run by an Emory player since Sam Cunningham's ninth-inning game-tying two run home run during the 2007 NCAA South Regional Championship game.   It was the second of the tournament for Riebsame, and his fourth this season.  The senior ended the UAA Tournament batting .435 with two home runs and eight runs batted in.

Cohn finished the game two-for-four with the grand slam, and now has eight RBIs over his last two games, after driving in eight in his previous 18.  Hannon was three-for-five during the day, and hit a team best .526 (10-for-19) with eight runs scored and seven RBIs during the six UAA games.

Sophomore Mike Bitanga pitched the final two innings for Emory, allowing an unearned run on one hit, and improving to 1-1 on the season.  Bitanga finished the tournament 1-0 with two saves and a 0.00 ERA over seven innings pitched.

The UAA title is the 10th in the program's history, and the first outright title since the 2007 season.

Emory is now 13-7 on the season with the victory, while Washington dropped to 6-8 with the loss.  The Eagles will return to action this weekend at Chappell Park, facing Huntingdon College at 1:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday.