Although the weather wasn't perfect for the Eagles this weekend, at least one game was. Freshman Sarah Smith,the team's ace pitcher, tossed the first perfect game in school history Sunday in the Eagles' 3-0 win over Judson College (Ala.).
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| Nathaniel J. Clark/Photo Editor |
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Freshman pitcher Sarah Smith pitched Emory's first perfect game Sunday against Judson College (Ala.).
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Overall, Smith pitched in four games this weekend, as the Eagles improved their record to 15-8.
Following the perfect game, Smith remained modest as she shared the spotlight with her teammates.
"Defensively, we were perfect in that first game Sunday," Smith said. "Everybody made the plays they had to and that made the perfect game possible."
The two victories against Judson came easily for the Eagles. "We thought that they would be pretty decent, but we had been playing well all weekend, so we knew we could beat them." Smith said.
The Eagles handed Judson an 8-0 loss on the tails of Smith's perfect game and then followed up with a 12-3 shellacking in the second game.
Sunday's triumph was a big improvement for the Eagles after they opened the weekend with a 5-0 loss to Thomas College.
"The offense sputtered on Friday, it was disappointing," Smith said. "Thomas had a really great pitcher though, probably the best we've seen all year. She had a lot of ball movement."
Freshman designated hitter Lauren Dix agreed.
"She was definitely the best pitcher we faced all year," she said. "I think movement is harder to hit than speed. She had an amazing curveball. It had really tight spin."
Saturday, the inclement weather could not cool off the Eagles' bats, as Emory erupted for 22 runs in a 22-3 victory over Wesleyan College and seven more against Pearce College (N.C.) in the Eagles' 7-2 win. The Eagles' streak was halted once again as they dropped another game to Thomas 3-1.
"We just hit," Dix said. "We faced great pitching Saturday and usually it takes some time for us to adjust, but we adjusted really quickly today."
"Everyone was really happy with our hitting improvement," Smith said. "We still had some trouble with the pitcher from Thomas, but overall, it was a great day for us."
"It seemed like everybody got a hit [Sunday]," Dix said. "Overall, it seemed like everyone played really well both offensively and defensively, but we still had a couple of quirks in key situations that caused us to lose to Thomas."
The Eagles will have four days to rest up for their next contest.
"We get tired over the course of five games but when we get more tired, we come together and get more focused," Dix said. "That brings us together as a team." Dix said.
