Softball picks up three more wins

During a busy weekend for Emporia State athletics, the softball team put in two solid days of work with a pair of conference opponents. In total, the #22 Hornets went a combined 3-1 record against Southwest Baptist and Northwest Missouri.

On Saturday the Hornets faced Southwest Baptist in a pair of games and defeated the Bearcats,12-0 and 9-1. The first game of the double-header was close going into the fourth inning until the Bearcats committed a pair of errors that sparked the Hornets to an 11-run inning and put the Hornets up 12-0. In the nightcap, the Hornets came out swinging and scored their first six runs on six hits in the first. Riding the team’s hot bats, the Hornets put up three more runs and allowed just a single run to pull to a 9-1 victory.

On Sunday, Emporia State faced another Bearcat team, this one from Northwest Missouri State. In the first game, the Hornets relied on the long ball and senior Sam Sheeley’s superb pitching to put them up over the Bearcats. Freshmen Abby Smith and Angela Mahan had homeruns in the first three innings, while Sheeley was able to strike-out 14 Bearcats and gave up just six hits as she went for the complete game. The second game was a different story as neither team was willing to go out without a fight. After swapping the lead several times, the Hornets ran out of time and fell in the seventh inning, 7-5.

The Hornets were scheduled to face Washburn in a springtime Turnpike Tussle on Wednesday, but due to weather the games were postponed until April 27. Next up, the Hornets travel up to St. Paul, Minnesota to play in the Concordia-St. Paul Tournament on April 12-13.