From Emory University Athletics
The Emory University Baseball program opened the 2018 season on Saturday afternoon, splitting a doubleheader against Piedmont College in Demorest, GA.
Game 1 – Emory 13, Piedmont 6
Even with the temperature in the low 40s for most of the afternoon, the Eagles wasted no time warming up at the plate as the team recorded 13 runs on 23 hits to win the season opener. The 23 hits tied for the fifth-most in a single game in program history and were the most by an Emory team since March 30th, 2010 against LaGrange.
Six Eagles registered two or more hits including sophomores Christopher Stern and Richard Breretonwho went a combined 10-for-11. Stern had a career day, going 6-for-6 with four RBI, tying Gabe Shivers' single-game program record for hits which was also accomplished against the Panthers on March 30th, 2010.
Brereton collected four hits, going 4-for-5 with a triple, a walk, two runs scored and was the winning pitcher for Emory. The second-year righty pitched five innings, allowing four runs (2 ER) on four hits. He struck out four and walked four in the outing.
Senior Bubby Terp was 3-for-5 with a double, two RBI and scored a team-high three runs. Freshman Jack Rubenstein added three hits in his collegiate debut, going 3-for-4 with a double and one run batted in.
The Eagles fell behind early in the first inning as the Lions plated three runs. After failing to score with the bases loaded in the second inning, Emory answered in the top of the third with a three-spot and took the lead an inning later with back-to-back hits by Terp and Stern. The Eagles blew open the game in the fifth, scoring five times including a two-run liner to center off the bat of Stern.
Game 2 – Piedmont 10, Emory 6
The night cap was a back-and-forth affair as the teams traded leads before the Lions ended up with the 10-6 victory. Piedmont's Brady Ballstadt delivered two separate late-inning two-run base hits to carry the Lions to the win.
Emory continued their hot hitting to begin the game, scoring three times in the opening frame to stake claim to the early lead. Piedmont, however, bounced back with a pair of their own in the bottom half of the first and later tied it with a single run in the third.
The score remained 3-3 until Terp plated Brereton with a sac fly in the fifth but Piedmont answered in the latter part of the fifth, scoring the tying run on a Peter Freck wild pitch.
After a Ballstadt two-run single in the sixth, the Eagles trailed 6-4 heading into the eighth inning before Stern came up clutch again, launching the game-tying two-run home run over the left field fence.
Unfortunately, Ballstadt broke the tie game with another two-run single, this time off senior Rhett Stuart, in the bottom of the inning and tacked on two more for the 10-6 final margin.
Stern and freshman Drew Bartholow each tallied two hits in the contest with Stern driving in a team-high three runs and Bartholow adding a RBI, walk and run scored.