Box Score Junior Hans Hansen tossed eight shutout innings and the Emory offense poured in double digit runs for the second straight contest as the Eagles took game one from the Piedmont College Lions 11-0 in eight innings on Friday night in Demorest, GA. The game was called before the top of the ninth due to rain.
The Eagles (29-9) collected 14 hits with all nine starters tallying at least one base knock in the ballgame. Sophomore Bubby Terp led the team driving in a career-high three runs in a 1-for-4 effort. Junior Chris Young and sophomore Nick Chambers each had two RBI and senior Chris Slivka continued to swing a hot bat, going 3-for-4 with a RBI. Young and junior Philip Maldari (1-for-4, RBI) each extended their respective hitting streaks as Maldari now stands at nine games and Young sits at seven.
Emory plated nine of its 11 runs over the first three innings against Piedmont (20-18) but Hansen needed just one run of support on the evening as he was in control throughout. Hansen picked up his first career shutout, allowing just six hits over the eight frames while striking out three. The Playa del Rey, CA native had only one inning where two base runners were on at the same time and just two Lions reached third over the course of the entire outing. Hansen now stands at 8-1 on the year with a 1.30 earned run average. The win marks the 20th of Hansen's career as he becomes just the 11th player to reach 20 victories in program history.
The Eagles struck for three runs in the top of the second as Terp led off the scoring with a triple to straight away center field to bring home Chambers and Slivka. Young made it 3-0 with a single up the middle to plate Terp from third.
In the third stanza, Emory batted around scoring six times in the inning to increase their lead to 9-0. Slivka began scoring with a bases loaded walk to push across junior Brian Hernandez. Chambers made it 5-0 with a two-run single to plate Maldari and junior Wilson Morgan. Terp picked up another RBI with a groundout to score Slivka. Young made it 8-0 Eagles with another run scoring hit to plate Chambers and senior Dylan Eisner provided the final blow in the inning with double on the first pitch of the at bat to bring home Young.
Emory tacked on two more runs in the top of the eighth as Harnandez scored senior David Coble from third on a groundout and Maldari brought home Eisner with a single.
The Eagles and Lions make the short trip to Atlanta for the middle game of the three-game series tomorrow with first pitch set for 3:00 PM at Chappell Park. At 2:30 PM, Emory will have a special pregame ceremony to honor the Class of 2016 in Coble, Eisner, Jack Karras, Paul Merolla, Slivka and Ben Vizvary.
