Hornets dominate MIAA opponents over weekend

Chris Hunter / The Bulletin

Senior pitcher Samantha Sheeley delivers a pitch at Turnbull Field. Sheeley picked up three wins over the weekend.

Over the course of Saturday and Sunday, the Emporia State softball team played four games against a pair of MIAA opponents. The 22nd ranked Hornets swept both teams in the doubleheaders.

On Saturday the Hornets played in Warrensburg, Mo. against the Central Missouri Jennies in a shoot-out with the second ranked team in the MIAA. In the first game, senior Samantha Sheeley pitched the full seven innings without giving up a single run, and racking up 11 strike outs on the game. Offensively the Hornets started sluggish until scoring three runs in the last two innings of play. The Hornets won, 3-0.

The second game was more exciting. The Hornets scored early but the Jennies scored big in the fourth inning to tie the score at three at the conclusion of the seventh inning. Sheeley came in for relief duty after the sixth and did not give up any runs for her four innings in the second game. Freshman Mandi Dennis and junior Shelbe Hughes scored in the top of the tenth to put the Hornets ahead for good, 5-3.

On the second day, the Hornets traveled to Kirksville to play the Truman State Bulldogs. The first game, like the second from the day before, took extra innings to complete. The Bulldogs broke Sheeley’s streak of 25 scoreless innings in the sixth to take a 1-0 lead. Junior Aubree Brattin scored in the seventh to tie it up and force extra innings. In the top of the eighth the Hornets continued their comeback and scored the go ahead run. Sheeley then closed out the game with three consecutive strike outs.

In the second game, the Bulldogs scored a quick run in the first inning. That was the only run they would have cross the plate, however, as the Hornets scored three unanswered runs throughout the remainder of the game to win in a low-key 3-1 game.

After the Hornet’s exciting weekend in Missouri, they now own a 32-13 record with a 9-1 MIAA record. The Hornets will continue their road trip with a trip to Hays for a double header against the Tigers of Fort Hays State on Tuesday. The Tigers own a 29-21 record and 6-8 conference record. The first game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start.