The No. 24 ranked Emory University softball team split the final two games of its weekend series with Carnegie Mellon University on Saturday with the Tartans taking the first game of the day before the Eagles answered with a win in the rubber game to complete the series win.
Game 1: Carnegie Mellon 5, #24 Emory 4
The Tartans took advantage of three Emory defensive miscues in the opening inning to score the game's first run before tacking on an additional four runs in the second to lead 5-1 at the end of two. Junior Lillian Ware provided the lone tally for the Eagles with her sacrifice fly to plate senior Ashley Chu in the bottom of the first.
Despite trailing 5-1, senior Mackenzie Duford was flawless in relief as she tossed 5.2 innings of scoreless pitching to keep the Eagles in the contest. In her outing, Duford scattered seven hits and one walk while striking out four.
Emory mounted a rally in the middle innings starting with two runs in the fourth including a pinch-hit RBI double from Ella Janish and scored again in the fifth on the back of a fielding error by the CMU right fielder.
The Eagles would see the tying run reach base in both the sixth and seventh innings but were unable to push home the game-tying score.
Game 2: #24 Emory 7, Carnegie Mellon 4
Carnegie Mellon seized another early advantage with four runs coming across home plate through the first three innings as the Tartans led 4-0 through two and half innings.
However, the Eagles responded with a big four-run frame in their half of the third to even the score at 4-4. The first two runs in the inning came from a little league home run when Chu laid down a beautiful bunt in front of home plate with a runner on base but an errant throw by the CMU catcher down the first base line allowed Rylie Ballog and Chu to race around the bases for two runs. Later in the inning, Ellie Zerr blasted a two-run home run to left field to tie the game.
Freshmen duo Greta Uhlmann and Sydney Thune combined to hold the Tartans off the scoreboard for the final four innings with Uhlman earning the win with only one earned run allowed in her four innings while Thune was stellar in her three innings to lock down her first career save. Thune, who threw a complete game on Friday, tossed three scoreless innings with four strikeouts and only allowed two of the 11 batters she faced to reach base.
Chu had the go-ahead double in the fourth as she plated Shivani Nangia with a double down the left field line. An inning later, Emory padded the lead with a Grace Cooper RBI single prior to Lillian Ware coming home to score on an Alejandra Wittman fielder's choice.
The Eagles, now standing at 15-9 on the season and 5-1 inside UAA play, will travel to No. 17 Case Western Reserve for a weekend series in Cleveland starting Friday afternoon.
