The Emory University softball team opened the Ulili Softball Invitational in Honolulu, Hawaii with a bang taking wins against Sewanee and Oneonta.
 
The receiving votes Eagles improve to 10-2 on the season after the first two games of six of the Division III Ulili Tournament in Honolulu, the second annual tournament held in partnership with the Hawaii Softball Foundation.
 
Emory was led by a number of individuals offensively while five Eagles saw time in the circle. Freshman Lauryn Selvaraj got the start in game one and dominated the opening game followed by a start from sophomore Lexi Bach in game two.
 
Game 1: Emory 15, Sewanee 6
 
The Eagles struck early in the first inning with teammates Ashley Chu and Rylie Ballog opening with back to back singles. With two outs, junior Ella Hoyle followed with a bases-clearing single followed by a triple from freshman Shivani Nangia to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead.
 
Emory tacked on five more runs in the bottom of the second to take an 8-0 advantage. In the bottom of the third, freshman Shea Johnson opened the scoring run with a bases-loaded triple to right field scoring three more runs for the Eagles. Sophomore Ella Janish followed with a double to score Johnson bringing Emory's lead to 12-0.
 
The Tigers were able to tack on two runs in the top of the fourth inning taking advantage of an error from Emory's defense, but the Eagles were able to get out of the jam without allowing another run. In the bottom of the fourth, freshman Addison Kwong and sophomore Abby Wylie opened the inning with a single and a double before a single from Chu scored another run for the Eagles. Wylie later scored on a wild pitch before a single from Janish brought Chu home for the 15^th run of the game.
 
Sewanee went on a scoring run of their own in the top of the fifth inning adding four more runs on two hits. With bases loaded, Selvaraj was able to get out of the inning and clinched the first win of the day.
 
Game 2: Emory 4, Oneonta 2
 
The second game of the day was all about pitching with Bach getting three outs quickly in the top of the first inning against the Red Dragons. Chu led off the bottom of the first with a walk and a stolen base followed by another walk to Ballog setting up Janish at the plate. She was able to take advantage of an error from Oneonta's defense bringing Chu home on the play.
 
In the top of the second, the Red Dragons were able to take advantage of errors as well scoring their first run on an error before a fielder's choice brought in their second run of the game to give Oneonta a 2-1 lead. Emory responded quickly in the bottom half of the inning with a groundout from Chu to score freshman Megan Sutton tying the game at two apiece.
 
Emory struck again in the bottom of the third with Zerr opening the inning with a double followed by a single from Hoyle. The freshman duo of Nangia and Sutton knocked back-to-back singles to bring in two more runs for the Eagles and reclaiming the lead.
 
The next four innings were a pitching battle with junior Isabel Cohen coming into the game for Bach in the top of the fourth. Both teams were held scoreless for the remainder of the game with junior Mackenzie Duford entering the game for the final out to secure the 4-2 win.
 
Emory will return to the field tomorrow, March 13 to face Drew University at 10:00 AM and 12:30 PM HST in Honolulu, Hawaii.