The baseball team lost four of its last five games in the University Athletic Association tournament, beating New York University in a thriller on Saturday. The Judges ended the University Athletic Association Tournament with a 2-6 record and sit at 5-6 overall.

Emory 9, Judges 3

The Judges came out strong defensively in the first two innings of the game. Pitcher Sam Miller ’16 pitched solidly to start the game, allowing no runs in the first two innings of play. 

The next three innings proved to be the downfall of the team, with the Emory squad racking up seven runs in a pure beating of the Judges’ pitching. 

The Judges tied the game in the fourth with a lead-off homerun from outfielder Ryan Healy ’16. Yet the Judges’ success was short lived, giving up five runs in the top of the fifth to surrender their chances. Miller was done for the day, allowing four earned runs and striking out just four batters. 

Pitcher Anthony Nomeako ’17 came in for relief but was similarly attacked by the Emory offense. Nomeako surrendered three runs, only one of which was earned, in his short-lived two innings of play. 

The Emory offense continued its barrage of runs into the sixth inning, tacking on two more runs to the scoreboard. 

The Judges finally subdued the hot Emory offense in the last three innings. However, that was not enough to stave off an Emory win. The Judges mustered only one run in the next three innings, not nearly enough to take back the seven-run lead. 

Pitcher Daniel Schupper ’16 closed out the game for the Judges, allowing only two hits and no runs. 

The scoreboard flashed 9-3 as the Judges left the field in despair. Emory improved to 5-3, taking second place in the standings, while the Judges fell to 2-6 in conference play. 

Judges 7, NYU 6

The Judges came out victorious in a hard-fought battle against the NYU Violets on Saturday. 

The game started out on a low note for the Judges, with pitcher Sean O’Neill ’17 hitting the first batter of the day and allowing one run in the top of the first inning. Yet the Judges responded well in the bottom of the half, bringing in two runs off an error and a sweet single up the middle by first baseman Greg Heineman ’16. The NYU defense tacked on one more error during the inning after a failed pick-off attempt. 

The Violets regained the lead in the third, scoring two runs in the top of the inning. Senior catcher CJ Picerni hit a rocket off O’Neill to bring in both runs and increase O’Neill’s earned run total to three. 

Once again the NYU defense committed costly errors, this time in the bottom of the third, to give the Judges one more run. Outfielder Liam O’Connor ’16 advanced to second on a throwing error, eventually scoring the lone run. 

The Violets continued to trade runs, regaining the lead with a run in the fourth. O’Neill gave up a double to left field and a subsequent run in the top of the inning. 

The teams continued to exchange run for run throughout the rest of the game. The Judges scored a game-tying run in the bottom of the sixth, which ultimately saved the game and pushed play into two extra innings. Both teams played evenly throughout the 10th inning, pushing the game even further into 11 innings of play. 

In the bottom of the 11th, infielder Benjamin Bavly ’19 scorched the NYU pitching with a deep double to center. With just one out, Heineman came to the plate and smashed a walk-off single up the middle, bringing in Bavly for the win. 

With the win, the Judges improved to 2-5 in the UAA tournament and 5-5 in the overall season. 

The Judges will continue their campaign today against a 5-3 Bridgewater State University team before taking on Clark University in a doubleheader on Sunday.