By Joshua J. Darling, Sports Information Director
LAGRANGE, Ga. – Junior first baseman Tray Owens (Franklin, Ga.) accounted for five of the runs in No. 2/3 LaGrange's (3-1, 0-0 CCS) 15-4 rout of Emory (1-2, 0-0 UAA), three via the long ball, in an NCAA Division III baseball game on Wednesday, February 22.
The Panthers wasted no time as they jumped out ahead 3-0 in the bottom of the first, a rally that started with a one out double down the left field line by junior shortstop Adam Dorn (Canton, Ga.). He would advance to third on a groundout and Emory would hit back-to-back batters to load the bases.
Dorn then came home on a wild pitch before Owens stroked a single up the middle to bring home junior catcher David Smigelski (Canton, Ga.) and junior designated hitter Jared Aldridge (Carrollton, Ga.) for that three-run lead. A third hit batter put runners on first and second but Emory was able to escape the inning with a strikeout.
It would stay that way until the fourth when LaGrange pounded out four hits and capitalized on an error to push across six runs and put the game out of reach at 9-0. The big blow in that inning came off the bat of Owens with what Earl Weaver called the best play in baseball – a three-run shot down the left field line.
The next two innings the Panthers would drive in three runs each while allowing three runs to the Eagles in the top of the sixth From there they would go on to close out the 15-4 victory three innings later.
Steven Hunt and Jack Masonis led the way for Emory, both going 2-for-4 while Zach Wasserlauf was 1-for-3 with a run and RBI. Walker Woolf added the other RBI and Aaron Mishoulam threw just 3.1 innings and surrendered eight earned runs with five strikeouts to take the loss and drop to 0-2.
Owens would deliver a 2-for-5 day that included a homerun and five RBIs while Adridge went 2-for-3 with three runs and three RBIs. Senior third baseman Joe Ruth (Chiefland, Fla.) cracked a pair of doubles to go with three runs and an RBI and Dorn finished went 2-for-4 with two doubles, three runs and an RBI. On the hill, freshman pitcher Eduardo Peralta (David, Chirqui, Panama) threw four innings, recording 10 of those 12 outs by strikeout.
UP NEXT
LaGrange is back in action this weekend as they host Rose-Hulman in a three game series beginning on Friday, February 25 with a doubleheader at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. The series will conclude Saturday, February 26 at 2 p.m. at Cleaveland Field in Williamson Stadium.
