From Emory University Athletics
For the fourth time in the program's history and the first time
since 2007, the Emory University Eagles, ranked
22nd in the Nation, will be headed to Appleton,
Wisconsin to compete for the NCAA Division III Championship, after
winning the South Regional Championship with a 5-2 victory over
Bridgewater College in Demorest, Georgia on Sunday night.
The Eagles battled their way back through the losers' bracket,
after dropping their second game of the tournament to
Bridgewater. Emory rallied off four-straight wins, defeating
Rhodes College, Shenandoah and Bridgewater twice to win the
Regional Championship.
"It's a great moment," said Emory Head Coach Mike
Twardoski. "I think the best part of it is the ten seniors we
have on the team. That is really the rally point for
us. We knew it was going to be a tough stretch, losing a game
pretty early in the tournament, and we just didn't want [the
seniors] to take off their uniforms this year… It's a great
moment for Emory baseball."
Senior catcher Jared Welch was named the South Regional
Most Valuable Player, after driving in a team-high seven runs with
two doubles and two triples, and holding opposing base runners to
just four steals on nine attempts over the six games. Senior
outfielders Daniel Iturrey and Brandon Hannon,
junior pitcher Connor Dillman and freshman
closer Kyle Monk each earned a spot on the all-tournament
team.
"Our team is extremely unique in that everyone's role is the same,"
said Welch. "From one through nine, our job is to get on
base. And after we get on base, the guy behind him has got to
get on base as well… When you have nine guys on the field
that are trying to do that, you put together some good wins."
The Eagles will face Baldwin Wallace College, winner of the
Mid-Atlantic Regional, in the opening game of the World
Series. The game is scheduled for a 2:15 PM start on May
23rd at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton.
On Sunday, both teams' starting pitchers were working on short
rest, with Emory Dillman earning the win over Rhodes on Wednesday
with a 115-pitch effort, and Bridgewater's Nick Corbin picking up a
victory over Birmingham-Southern on Friday with a 97-pitch
outing.
A two-run single in the top of the second inning off the bat of
Justin Peatock put Bridgewater out in front early, 2-0. Emory
responded immediately in the bottom of the frame, starting with
back-to-back singles from Iturrey and Jared Kahn, to put
runners on the corners. The next batter, Welch, hit a ball to
the wall in left-centerfield, but Bridgewater leftfielder Derrik
Walling tracked it down, making a leaping catch to save an
extra-base hit. The play would score Iturrey from third,
however, cutting the lead in half.
The score remained 2-1 until the bottom of the fourth, when Kahn
and Welch opened the inning with back-to-back walks, and
freshman Philip Maldari drove them both in with a double
in the left-centerfield gap, giving the Eagles their first lead of
the game, 3-2. Junior Wes Peacock later drove in
Maldari from second with a two-out hit, putting Emory ahead by a
pair.
Bridgewater would threaten against Dillman in the top of the fifth,
putting runners at second and third with one out. The
right-handed pitcher and all-University Athletic Association (UAA)
First Team selection extricated himself from trouble, however,
striking out a pair of Eagles to end the frame and his day.
It was the second time in the game Bridgewater left the bases
packed to end an inning.
Dillman scattered eight hits and five walks in the outing, holding
the Eagles to a pair of runs and striking out eight over five
innings and 115 pitches. He picked up his second win of the
tournament, and improved to 9-1 overall this season.
Emory took advantage of a pair of errors in the bottom of the fifth
to add on a run. Senior righty Matt McMahon entered
the game in the sixth, and retired the side in order, including a
pair of strikeouts. After he allowed a leadoff hit to start
the seventh, freshman Jackson Weeg (just two days removed
from an eight-inning outing against Rhodes) picked off the runner,
and induced a pair of groundouts to get out of the inning without
any damage. Weeg retired the side in order in the eighth,
putting Emory three outs away from the Regional Championship.
Monk would close out the game in the ninth, earning his fifth save
of the campaign, four of which came during the six tournament
games.
Corbin took the loss for Bridgewater, dropping to 8-2 on the
year. Bridgewater closed out its campaign with a 36-14
record, while Emory improved to 34-11 with the victory.
"Nothing surprises me about this team," said Iturrey.
"Everyone has done their job, everyone has stepped up,
exactly how we've expected them to. We're capable of being a
championship team."
"We are now to a point where we can do something in the College
World Series," said Twardoski. "This team can do some damage
there, and I think we're at the peak of our playability right
now."