Box Score Emory University freshman pitcher Paul Merolla pitched his first career complete game, and freshman designated hitter Chris Slivka drove in five runs, as the Eagles rolled to a 9-4 victory over Brandeis University in their second-to-last game of the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships on Friday.
Merolla scattered 12 hits during the contest, but did not walk a batter, while striking out a pair. Limiting the Judges to four earned runs in the game, the righty claimed the victory in the contest to improve to 2-1 on the season. It was the first complete game of the season by an Eagle, and the first by an Emory player since former Eagle Paul Schwendel pitched an eight-inning complete game in a loss to DePauw University in the NCAA Tournament last season.
Meanwhile, Slivka continued his recent hot streak at the plate, finishing the day three-for-four with five RBIs, a double, a triple and a run scored. He is now batting .474 this season, including a mark of .467 with nine RBIs over four conference games.
Emory, the visiting team in the game, jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after half an innings, after Slivka's RBI triple and an RBI double from Ryan Toscano. Toscano would score a run of his own later in the inning, crossing the plate after a throw down to second on Jared Welch's stolen base got into centerfield.
Brandeis countered with two runs in the bottom of the inning, but Merolla would hold the Judges off the board over the next four frames. In the fifth, Slivka's sacrifice fly extended Emory's lead to 4-2, but Brandeis answered back with a run in the bottom of the inning again, making it a 4-3 game. However, the Eagles scored a run in each of the sixth and seventh innings, and three more in the eighth, including two on a single from Slivka, cementing the lead.
Brandeis picked up a run in the eighth, but would not get any closer, as Merolla closed out his 104 pitch effort with a scoreless ninth inning.
Sophomore Wes Peacock finished the game one-for-four, extending his season-long hitting streak to 13 games. Junior Jared Kahn added a three-hit performance at the plate, while junior Brandon Hannon, junior Jared Welch and freshman Ben Vizvary each contributed two hits to Emory's 14-hit attack.
The Eagles now stand at 9-9 on the season, and 3-4 at the UAA Tournament. With the loss, Brandeis dropped to 4-9 for the season, and to 2-5 in UAA games.
Emory will wrap-up UAA play in Sanford, FL on Saturday, March 15th at 11:00 AM against Case Western Reserve University. Case can assure itself at least a share of its first-ever UAA Championship with a victory in the game.
