Box Score The #6/7 Emory University baseball team jumped out to a 6-0 lead before holding on for a 6-4 victory over #9/6 Birmingham Southern College on Tuesday night in Birmingham, Ala.
The Eagles (21-7) scored twice in the top of the first to gain an early two-run advantage. Junior Brian Hernandez, who entered the day ranked sixth nationally in RBI, drove in his 33rd of the season with a sac fly to left to score sophomore Nick Chambers. Later in the inning, senior Chris Slivka worked a bases loaded walk to push home senior Dylan Eisner.
In the fifth inning, Emory extended its lead to 5-0 thanks to Slivka and junior Wilson Morgan. Morgan singled up the middle to being home Hernandez to make it 3-0. Slivka came up to bat with the bases loaded again, delivering with a two run single to plate Morgan and senior Ben Vizvary. The Eagles tacked on another run in the seventh as Slivka was able to score as junior Chris Young was in the middle of a rundown.
The Panthers (20-7) rallied in the bottom of the seventh, scoring four times off starter Jackson Weeg to cut the deficit to 6-4. Following a sac fly to make it 6-1, Tayor McCracken cleared the bases with a double down the right field line. Weeg was able to finish the inning with no more runs crossing the plate. Weeg moved to 5-0 on the year with his seven innings of work. He allowed four runs on six hits, striking out three and walking a pair. With the victory, Weeg moves into for eighth place all-time in program history with 21 career wins.
Junior Kyle Monk worked the final two innings of the game, allowing a two-out double in the eighth and a one-out single in the ninth. Monk recorded three strikeouts in the outing to collect his 10th save of the season. The save is the 28th of his career, moving the Cortlandt Manor, NY native into the top-10 all-time in that category. He currently sits tied for eighth most in NCAA Division III history.
Emory will be back in action this weekend with two games against Maryville (TN) on Saturday and Sunday at Chappell Park. First pitch on Saturday is set for 3:00 PM with Sunday's tilt set to begin at 2:00 PM.
