The Emory University softball program won both of their games on Sunday to close out the Emory Classic against LaGrange College and Maryville College in Atlanta, Georgia.
 
The Eagles open the 2024-25 season with a 4-0 record with an 8-0 defeat of Maryville and an 11-3 win against LaGrange, both lasting just five innings. A number of Eagles had notable numbers including junior Ashley Chu who batted 4-for-7 with three RBI and four runs across both games. In game two, junior Ella Hoyle went 4-for-4 with three RBI and notched the game winning single.
 
Emory sent three athletes into the circle on Sunday with the duo of juniors Mackenzie Duford and Isabel Cohen holding the Scots to just one run and one hit in game one while sophomore Lexi Bach took the reins in game two allowing just one earned run through five innings against LaGrange.
 
Game 1: Emory 8, Maryville 0 (5 inn.)
 
After a scoreless first inning from the Scots thanks to a quick outing from Duford, the Eagles went on their first scoring run in the bottom half of the inning. Chu opened the inning with a single and was able to advance to third on a throwing error from Maryville. She was later brought in by Cooper after another error from the Scots followed by a single from sophomore Ellie Zerr.
 
A single from sophomore Sonia Klein brought in Emory's second run while Hoyle followed with a two-RBI single to center field giving the Eagles a 4-0 lead. Sophomore Ella Janish ended the scoring run with a sacrifice fly to left for Emory's fifth run of the game.
 
The next two innings were scoreless from both dugouts with a walk and a single from the Eagles opening the bottom of the third. With runners on second and third, Chu hit a ground ball to third base while freshman Megan Sutton was able to get under the tag at home for a 6-0 Eagle lead. Sophomore Grace Cooper brought in the final two runs of the game with a two-RBI single up the middle.
 
The final two innings were quiet from both sides and Cohen closed out the game with a 1-2-3 top of the fifth inning to secure the win.
 
Game 2: Emory 11, LaGrange 3 (5 inn.)
 
The Panthers jumped after coming off a big win against the Scots earlier in the day. Early in the inning, LaGrange was able to take advantage of errors from Emory's defense to score their first run of the game in the first.
 
Emory responded in the bottom half of the inning with a single from Chu and a double from Zerr to tie the game at 1 apiece. Hoyle notched her first hit of the game with a single up the middle to bring Zerr home and give Emory a 2-1 lead. The Eagles then struck again in the bottom of the second with an RBI single from Chu to score Janish for a 3-1 Emory advantage.
 
LaGrange wasn't giving up yet tying the game again in the top of the third taking advantage of three hits and another error from the Eagles' defense. The lead didn't last long with back-to-back doubles from Hoyle and Sutton in the bottom of the third reclaiming the lead at 5-3. Freshman Rylie Ballog closed out the run with a single to first base to score Sutton giving the Eagles a 6-3 lead after the third.
 
The fourth inning and the top of the fifth were scoreless with both pitchers going toe-to-toe. In the bottom of the fifth, Janish opened reaching on an error from the Panthers followed by three singles from sophomore Abby Wylie, Ballog and Chu for a five-run Emory lead. Cooper brought in two more runs with a double to left before a walk from Zerr put runners on the corner.
 
Hoyle clinched the win with a single through the right side to bring in the 11^th run and close the game.
 
The Eagles will take a short break this week before facing Buena Vista University in a doubleheader on Thursday, March 6 at 12:00 and 2:00 PM in Atlanta, Georgia.