The Emory University baseball team began its weekend trip up north with a late night doubleheader sweep over Brandeis University Friday night in Waltham, Massachusetts. With the wins, the Eagles move over .500 in University Athletic Association competition at 6-4 and now stand 20-10 overall while the Judges slip to 2-8 in league play and 10-18 overall.

Game 1: Emory 10, Brandeis 9 (14 innings)
With over 460 pitches thrown across 4 hours and 24 minutes, the Eagles outlasted the Judges in one of the longest games in UAA history. The lead changed hands six times as Emory pulled out the one-run victory in 14 innings. 

With the score tied at 9-9 in the top of the 14th, sophomore Aidan Conley came through with a heads up base running play to score the game-winning run. Senior Jack Halloran got picked off first base but was able to stay in a rundown long enough to allow Conley to race home from second to score the go-ahead run. The run was lone score for either side in the five extra-inning frames.

The Judges were the early aggressors on Friday, erasing a 3-0 Emory lead with a five-spot in the bottom of the second. The Eagles' were led in scoring to open the contest by a solo home run from Halloran and RBIs from senior Brok Liu and sophomore Zach Hanson.

Trailing 5-3, the Eagles scraped across single runs in each inning between the third and sixth and took the lead with a RBI single by senior Blake Dincman in the fifth inning.

A three-run inning by the Judges in the seventh, highlighted by a go-ahead two-run home run, pushed Brandeis back in front at 8-7 heading into the later innings.

Halloran and Dincman provided the heroics in the ninth as the duo notched clutch RBI to give the Eagles a 9-8 advantage. However, the Judges were able to score the tying run in their half of the ninth to force extra innings.

Senior Bennett Speicher, Emory's closer, was the unsung hero in the game as he spun a career-high six innings, tossing 105 pitches, as he held Brandeis off the scoreboard for five innings in extras after taking the blown save in the ninth. He allowed just the one run in the outing but struck out six to win his second game of the season. Junior Paul Fine logged his first career save with a clean bottom of the 14th.

Game 2: Emory 3, Brandeis 1 (7 innings)
After combining for one run over the final five innings in the first game of the evening, both offenses stayed quiet to open the night cap with the score remaining 0-0 through five full innings as senior Ryan Reynolds and Brandeis' Andrew Tringe were locked in a pitcher's duel.

Tringe held the Eagles scoreless through the six frames which allowed the Judges to take the 1-0 lead in the home half of the sixth with back-to-back one-out hits.

With consistent rain falling through the night's sky from the third inning on and the seventh inning getting underway at the late hour, forcing the UAA's curfew rule to come into play which states no new inning can start after 10:00 PM, it looked as if the seventh would be Emory's last chance for a rally.

Taking advantage of the increasingly heavy rain, the Eagles were able to work the bases loaded in the seventh with walks from Liu, senior Matthew Sicoli and sophomore Jake Lawson. With two outs, Halloran stepped to the dish looking to do some damage. He did not get a pitch to his liking but a wild pitch on a 2-2 count brought Liu home with the game-tying run. Halloran proceeded to draw a walk to re-load the bases for Dincman who in turn smacked a deep drive to left field to plate Sicoli and Lawson to give the Eagles a 3-1 lead.

With the local time eclipsing 10:00 PM as the teams took to the field in the bottom of the seventh, Reynolds slammed the door on his masterful performance as he earned his third win of the season in the complete game effort. Reynolds allowed the lone run on six hits as he faced 25 batters across the seven frames. He did not walk a batter and struck out five.

The series will continue on Saturday as game three of the series is scheduled to get underway at 1:00 PM and will move venues to be played at Waltham High School's turf field.