No. 2 Emory Softball Faces Busy Stretch Of Action

The Emory University softball, ranked No. 2 nationally among Division III programs, gears up a busy slate of action that will see it play eight games over the course of six days.  The Eagles open the week with a doubleheader at Huntingdon College on Tuesday starting at 2:00 p.m. (EDT).  Emory then starts a six-game homestand on Friday (Apr. 8) when it welcomes LaGrange College to Cooper Field for a twinbill starting at 2:00 p.m.  The Jaguars of Spelman College then invade Emory’s home field for a pair of games on Saturday with action slated to start at noon.  The Eagles will play their final two regular season contests on Sunday (Apr. 10) when they entertain Rhodes College in a double-dip starting at noon.  Sunday will be Senior Day with the Emory softball program recognizing the contributions of Zara Louy, Brittany Boeshore and Nikki Perez.

Emory, 26-1-1 on the year, will be returning to action for the first time since March 24 when it dropped the opening game of doubleheader against DePauw University before battling to a 10-inning, 9-9 tie in in the nightcap. 

The Eagles continue to impress on the offensive front, posting a team batting average of .365 compared to the opposition’s mark of .225.  Emory has outscored its foes by a 215-43 margin and shows a huge 27-5 edge in homers.   The 27 round trippers is already a school seasonal record, bettering the previous standard of 25 set by the 2009 squad.  Freshman Megan Light paces the team and the University Athletic Association in a number of offensive categories including hitting (.506), base hits (41), and RBIs (44).  Light has delivered 13 contests of two or more safeties and has a dozen multiple-RBI contests.  Junior Jessica Thomas is hitting at a .442 clip, good for the No. 5 on the UAA chart, and her 34 RBIs places her second among league performers.  Both Light and Thomas share the UAA lead with eight homers.  Junior Jessica Boni has given the lineup a boost offensively with her .403 hitting average and 26 RBIs, as has freshman Claire Bailey who starts the week with an impressive hitting mark of .347 with 26 safeties in 75 plate appearances.  Heading into Tuesday’s action, Bailey is third on the club with nine multi-hit games. 

In the circle, the tandem of junior Bridget Holloway and freshman Lena Brottman have combined for 25 of the team’s 26 victories.  Holloway, 14-1, has tossed 84 innings and has an ERA of 1.39 with 49 strikeouts to her credit while Brottman has crafted a 11-0 ledger with an ERA of 1.17.  She has fanned 63 opponents in 77 innings of work while allowing just 54 hits.

Huntingdon, coached by Gynger Williams, has captured five of its last six games and will host Emory with an overall record of 15-7.  In their most recent action, the Hawks posted a doubleheader sweep of Wesleyan, 13-0, 18-0, on Saturday.  Emory and Huntingdon met earlier this season with the Eagles recording 10-2 and 7-0 victories. 

LaGrange will head to Atlanta with an overall record of 15-8.  The Panthers, coached by Jennifer Claybrook, have won four of their last five affairs and are coming off a twinbill sweep of Wesleyan last Friday, 9-0 and 13-0.  LaGrange is hitting .338 as a team while holding opponents to just a .228 effort.  Katie Ison checks in as the team’s top hitter with a .463 average, collecting 31 hits in 67 trips to the plate. 

Spelman, lead by first-year head coach Jessica Harris, starts the week with a 1-15 record.  Prior to its meeting with Emory on Saturday, the Jaguars will play doubleheaders at home against Miles College on Tuesday and Wesleyan on Friday.

Rhodes College currently owns an overall record of 19-11 and is coming off a four-game sweep of Centre College over the weekend.  Prior to making its way to Emory, sixth-year head coach David Hicks and the Lynx will play at Berry on Friday.