The baseball team fell in a 17-4 blowout to Huntingdon College (Ala.) yesterday, falling to 5-6 on the season in the final week before the UAA Tournament.

Huntington jumped ahead 1-0 in the top of the first, as the Hawks knocked in a run off of two singles and a fielder’s choice. The Eagles responded in the bottom of the third inning, when junior infielder Ryan Jones led off the inning with a bunt that was good for a single. After advancing to second base on a wild pitch, junior center fielder Gabe Shivers drew a walk, and then Jones advanced again on a passed ball. That set the stage for a two-out, two-strike single by junior infielder Andrew Cohn that drove in both baserunners and put Emory up 2-1.

The lead would not last long, as Huntingdon picked up three runs during the next two innings. The Eagles showed sloppiness in the field in both innings, as a LF throwing error and a SS fielding error caused two of those three runs to be unearned. Senior right-handed pitcher Matthew Katten gave up four hits in those two frames, with two of those hits being doubles. In five innings of work, Katten surrendered seven hits, struck out three batters and gave up no walks.
Emory scored a run in the bottom half of the fifth to narrow the Huntingdon lead to one. Shivers hit a leadoff single, and Cohn drove a 0-0 pitch into left center for a two-out RBI double.

The Eagles then tied the game up at four in the sixth inning. Sophomore left fielder Blake Pindyck started the inning off with a walk, and freshman Jake Eisenberg, who entered the game to pinch run for him, immediately stole second. After Jones struck out on a full-count, freshman catcher J.B. Smith singled up the middle to drive in Eisenberg.

Smith then stole second base and advanced to third on a Shivers ground out, but sophomore second baseman Kevin O’Connor struck out to end the inning and a potential chance to take the lead.

But the game got out of hand in the next inning, as the Hawks’ bats exploded for 10 runs in the seventh. All five Huntingdon hits in the inning were singles, but four walks and a hit-by-pitch helped fuel the offensive rally. Jones committed two throwing errors at third base that contributed to two runs.

Senior right-handed pitcher Brian Cournoyer earned the loss, as he gave up six runs, four of which were earned, in his 0.2-inning appearence. He gave up four hits and one walk in the seven batters that he faced, and his record dropped to 2-1 on the year.

“Things just didn’t go our way during the seventh inning,” Cournoyer said. “I didn’t stop the bleeding when we needed to. I felt like I was making good pitches but just didn’t get good results.”

Huntingdon would go on to score three more runs in the eighth in an inning that featured a two-out two-run double. Emory’s offense was quieted for the rest of the game, and the Hawks improved their season record to 9-4.

“We just need to start playing better baseball, and until we do, we aren’t going to win many games,” Cournoyer said.

One of the few high points of the day was that senior right fielder Dan Molnar
set a new Eagles mark for walks. His four-pitch walk in the bottom of the third was the 117th of his Emory career. Molnar was 0-for-3 on the day, striking out three times.

Cohn and Jones were both productive at the plate, hitting 3-for-4 and 2-for-3, respectively, on the day. Cohn knocked in three runs and improved his batting average for the year to .345. His slugging average of .586 remains the best on the team.

The Eagles have two home games this weekend, as they play Denison University (Ohio) tomorrow and then will face Case Western Reserve University (Ohio) on Sunday.

“I think the team will come out with a lot of energy tomorrow against Denison becasue of Mike Clark [a former Emory assistant coach] returning to Emory,” Cournoyer said. “Hopefully we can have a big win tomorrow and keep it going into Sunday agasint Case and the UAA’s.”

The team will then head to Sanford, Fla. to participate in the UAA Tournament. The Eagles are scheduled to open the week with a doubleheader against Brandeis University and Wash. U. During the next four days the team will take on University of Rochester twice, Brandeis again, and will also play a rematch against Case Western.

The first pitch of today’s game against Denison is scheduled to be thrown at 2 p.m.

— Contact David Michaels.