Emory Baseball to Open 2012 Home Schedule with Games against Washington & Lee and Maryville
The Emory University baseball team will return home for its first games this season at Chappell Park, playing Washington and Lee University on Tuesday and Maryville College (Tenn.) on Wednesday. Both games are schedule for a 2:00 PM first pitch.
Coverage
There will be live statistics and a video webcast of both games this week. The live stats are available at http://www.go.emory.edu/LiveStats/Base/XLIVE.HTM, while the webcast can be viewed at http://go.emory.edu/Webcasts/BaseWebcast.html. In order to watch the webcast, you will need to have RealPlayer installed on your computer, which can be downloaded for free from real.com.
Emory Eagles
The Eagles will be looking to rebound from their first loss of the season, a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the 24th-ranked Piedmont Lions at Coolray Field on Saturday. Emory is 3-1 overall this season, with three of their four contest taking place on a neutral field. The Eagles have outscored their opponents 18-14 over the first four games of the season, and are batting .238 with a .388 on base percentage. Emory's pitching staff has a 2.92 ERA, while holding opponents to a .244 batting average. Emory is led by 13th year head coach Mike Twardoski, who is 366-166-1 during his time with the squad, good for a .687 winning percentage. He is assisted by Bobby Perez, Brian Clark and Greg McMichael.
Washington & Lee Generals
The Generals stand at 0-2 on the year after dropping a pair of games at Averett University on February 12th by scores of 4-2 and 7-2. Washington and Lee, which finished the 2011 season with a record of 15-16, will look to get in the win column before coming to Chappell Park on Tuesday, playing at LaGrange College on Monday night. The Generals are batting .204 as a team this season with a .271 on base percentage, while their pitching staff has an ERA of 5.25, allowing its opponents to hit .300. Washington and Lee is led by head coach Jeff Stickley, who has compiled a 366-357-4 record during his 26 years with the squad. He is assisted by Brian Smith and Gavin Colliton.
Emory is 10-0 all time against Washington and Lee, with all 10 of the previous contests having taken place at Chappell Park. Last season, the Eagles edged the Generals by an 11-10 score. In that game, senior Jay Page and sophomore Jared Welch each had a double and drove in three runs.
Maryville Scots
Maryville will come to Emory with an overall record of 4-2 on the season, including an 0-2 record in road games. After opening the campaign with four-straight wins, the Scots dropped both games of a doubleheader at Guilford College on Saturday, losing 10-6 and 4-3. Maryville is batting .307 as a team this season with a .428 on base percentage and 37 runs scored in its six games, while their pitching staff has a 5.71 ERA with a .310 opponents' batting average. The Scots are led by first-year head coach Paul Henry. He is assisted by Joey McCown and Jimmy Reese.
Emory is 29-24 all time against Maryville, but has dropped the last five games in the series, including a 0-2 record against the Scots last season with a 5-1 loss on a neutral site, and an 8-6 loss in Maryville, TN. Sophomore Brandon Hannon was three-for-six with three walks and a stolen base over the two games, while senior reliever Ryan Orlovsky allowed just one hit in three scoreless innings out of the bullpen during the two games.
Emory Notes
Emory is 284-92-1 all time at home since the opening of Chappell Park during the 1995 season, good for a .755 winning percentage… Last year, the Eagles were 16-7 during their 23 games at Chappell Park, the most home games the Eagles have played since 2007… Emory drew 13 walks during their 10-inning win over LaGrange College on Friday, tied for the eighth-highest single game total in school history… As a team, the Eagles have already drawn 30 walks this season, including a team-high eight from senior shortstop Kevin O'Connor… Junior Michael Bitanga has held opponents hitless in eight at bats with runners on base this season… Junior Daniel Iturrey is batting a team-best .429 (three-for-seven) with runners on base this season… The Eagles are 2-0 against right-handed starting pitchers.
