Baseball Claims 13-6 Upset Win over Ninth-Ranked Birmingham Southern
Emory University broke a 6-6 tie with a seven-run seventh inning
on Wednesday night, as the Eagles earned a 13-6 victory over
ninth-ranked Birmingham Southern College in Birmingham, AL.
Emory capitalized on a 15-hit attack, as the Eagles received at
least a hit, an RBI and a run from eight different starters.
Freshman outfielder Brandon Hannon and junior
shortstop Jonathan Reilly each had a team-high
three hits and three RBIs during the game.
After falling behind 1-0 after one inning, the Eagles answered back
with their first of two big innings in the game, scoring five runs
in the top of the second frame. Sophomore Daniel
Iturrey started the scoring in the inning with an RBI
double, scoring Reilly, followed by RBI singles from Ryan
Jones, Hannon, Kevin O’Connor and
Jay Page. The last three runs of the inning
were all scored with two outs.
After the Panthers answered back with two runs in the bottom of the
second, the remained 5-3 until the Eagles extended their lead in
the top of the fifth inning, as Hannon singled in Jones with two
outs, putting the Eagles on top by three runs.
Birmingham Southern would again respond, tying the game in the
sixth inning on a solo home run and a two run single. The
Eagles escaped further damage in the inning, as freshman
Keith Gordon struck out a batter with one out and
the bases loaded, and Ryan Orlovsky (who entered
the game for Gordon) induced a ground out to end the threat.
Emory wasted little time in regaining the lead. After Reilly
and Iturrey both singled to start the inning, and catcher
Jared Welch walked with one out to load the bases,
Hannon drew a four-pitch walk to score the go-ahead run for
Emory. Senior Andrew Cohn followed with a
two-RBI single, and with two outs, Patrick
Riebsame was able to lay down an RBI bunt to bring across
a fourth run. Batting with the bases loaded, Reilly capped
off the Eagles’ inning with a three-run hit, giving Emory a
13-6 lead it would hold for the rest of the game.
Orlovsky earned his first win as an Eagle, improving to 1-0 on the
season, in a game that was a team effort for Emory on the
mound. Junior Connor McGuiness started and
allowed three runs in an inning and two third, before giving way to
freshman Matt McMahon, who allowed one earned run
(three total runs) on five hits over the next three and two thirds
innings. Gordon (a third of an inning), Orlovsky (one
inning), freshman Jason Edwards (an inning and a
third) and sophomore Mike Bitanga (an inning) each
had scoreless relief outings for the Eagles.
Iturrey finished the game two-for-four at the plate with a double,
two runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base, as the sophomore
extended his hitting streak to 10 games. O’Connor and
Jones each had two hit games as well for Emory.
The Panthers’ Jordan Burchett took the loss in relief, as
Birmingham Southern dropped to 20-5 on the season with the
loss. The win was the first against a ranked opponent this
season for Emory, and the team’s first since the Eagles
defeated 26th-ranked Methodist University on April 11,
2010. It was the highest-ranked opponent Emory has defeated
since April 7, 2008, when the Eagles were triumphant against then
fifth-ranked Piedmont College.
Emory will return to Chappell Park on Friday, opening up a
three-game weekend series against Hendrix College at 3:00 PM.
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