Foresters Start 2016 with Losses at #4 Emory

Foresters Start 2016 with Losses at #4 Emory

Freshman outfielder Maria Zepeda had a bunt single in each game but the Lake Forest College softball team was swept 8-0 and 4-3 at Emory University, the nation's fourth-ranked team, on Sunday.

Zepeda turned in the visitors' only base hit in game one when she bunted her way on in the top of the third inning. It was the first game of the season for the Foresters, who are ranked 18th in the country, and the 11th for Emory.

The Eagles scored one run in the bottom of the second inning and three in the third. Emory plated four more runs, including a pair of unearned scores, in the fifth to end the contest.

While the opener of the doubleheader was cut short, the teams still played 14 innings on the day thanks to a nine-inning affair in game two.

Lake Forest sophomore shortstop Kat Beall started the game with a base hit, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and third on a wild pitch, and came home on an Emory error.

Forester junior pitcher Jenny McTague kept the home team off the scoreboard until the bottom of the third inning. The first two outs of the frame were recorded at home plate but a two-run double brought gave Emory a 2-1 advantage.

McTague led off the next half-inning with a single, advanced to second when the next batter was hit by a pitch, and reached third on a wild pitch. Freshman third baseman Alyssa Grimm then singled her in to tie the game.

The score remained 2-2 until the top of the eighth inning. The international tiebreaker rule was in play so the Foresters began the frame with Beall on second base. She moved up to third on a groundout and scored on a two-out error to give the Foresters the lead.

The Eagles, however, tied the game on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning.

After Lake Forest was unable to score in the top of the ninth, the Eagles plated the winning run on a one-out double in the bottom of the inning and improved to 11-1 on the season.

The Foresters will continue their Spring Break trip with a doubleheader at Piedmont College Tuesday afternoon at 2:00 (EST). The team will then participate in the NFCA Classic on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.