Senior first baseman Jennifer Dace hits a single against the Fort Hays State defense Friday afternoon at Turnbull Field. The Hornets won both games of the double header, 6-0 in the first and 7-1 in the second. Kellen Jenkins/The Bulletin

In a Senior Day doubleheader against Fort Hays State, the Emporia State softball team wrapped up regular season play at home, sweeping the series 6-0 in game one and 7-1 in game two.

Prior to the game, the Preston family was recognized for the scoreboard they donated to Turnbull Field.

In game one, the Hornets got ahead early after junior Miranda Campbell hit a single up the middle to allow sophomore Abby Hughes to run in the first point of the game.

Both teams held on defense until the bottom of the fifth inning, when senior catcher Aubree Brattin hit a double to left field to allow senior infielder Jennifer Dace to run in another point for the Hornets. ESU gained the momentum as junior outfielder Jenna Potter capitalized on a fielding error to first base to allow Brattin to run in to make it a 3-0 ball game.

The Hornets continued to hold on defense and followed with more hits in the bottom of the sixth inning. Campell hit another single to center field to allow junior Linda Ketter to score. Dace followed with a double up to center field to run in Campbell and sophomore Angela Mahan.

Senior Megan Dennis threw her sixth shutout of the year and is fifth in the MIAA in strikeouts per 7.0 innings and wins, ninth in ERA and 10th in opponent batting averages.

“I came out to try and get ahead of everyone to keep it low and it helped getting the strikeouts,” Dennis said.

Offensively, the Hornets posed a threat at bat with runners in scoring position every inning.

Campbell went two for three at bat and Dace went two for four, both with two RBI. Brattin went one for three with one RBI.

Dace hit within one double of the ESU career record for doubles.

“It was a big day for all of us,” Dace said. “For the seniors it was all about thanking the community and thanking Emporia for all they have done for us and we just wanted to come out here and put on the best show we could.”

In game two, the Hornets started with another early lead in the bottom of the first inning when the Tigers fumbled the ball at first base to allow Hughes to advance from second base to score the first point of the game.

Neither team would score until the bottom of the third inning when Campbell hit a home run to left field, getting her eighth home run of the year. Potter put the Hornets up 3-0 after hitting a ground ball to second base to allow Dace to score.

After holding the Tigers in the top of the fourth inning, the Hornets continued to make plays at bat with Peters hitting the second home run of the game out to left field.

Fort Hays got their first and only run of the game in the top of the fifth inning when catcher Cortney Brown hit a home run to left field to bring the count to 4-1.

After holding in the top of the sixth inning, the Hornets continued to make offensive runs, scoring three more points.

Campbell led the Hornets on offense in game two, going two for three with two RBI. Peters was perfect at bat, going three for three with one RBI.

“Offensively we did great,” Dennis said. “We saw the ball well and we put it in play. They made the errors and we got the hits we needed.”

On defense, Dennis allowed two hits in game one and freshman Jennifer Heerey allowed three hits in game two.

“Everyone did their part today,” Brattin said. “Our pitchers threw phenomenal and our defense was tight today.”

Allowing one run on three hits, Heerey got her 19th run of the year.

“I just thought it was a great team effort,” said Head Coach Kristi Bredbenner. “We came out, we hit the ball well, we had great pitching, we played great defense and I think that is what it is all about right now.”

Taking the series 2-0, the Hornets’ seniors said they felt it was a good way to end their last game at home.

“We definitely wanted to go out with a bang and we did,” Dennis said. “It is the last time we will get to play out here and I am glad we did it like that.”

The Hornets have had success at home for the majority of the season, winning 22 of their last 25 games at the Trusler Sports Complex.

“We have been a little up and down with our consistency,” Brattin said. “But we are ending strong going into our post-season play and that is all that matters.”

The seniors are not the only ones who feel the wins were bittersweet.

“It is always sad to see your seniors go but they have had a successful career here and you just want to see them succeed and do well and you replace what you can and you move on from there,” Bredbenner said. “But they are a good group and I have had a lot of fun with them and they have achieved a lot here over the last couple of years and so hopefully they will keep on going here in the next couple of weeks.”

The Hornets ended the regular season with an overall record of 36-13 and went 15-5 in the MIAA. The Hornets led the MIAA in team batting average at .319 while the closest team behind them is hitting a .290 average. The Hornets also lead in slugging percentage at .484, while Washburn trails in second with a .452 average.

ESU is now preparing for post-season play in the MIAA Tournament.

“We are taking a couple of days off,” Bredbenner said. “We really have not had any time off these last couple of weeks because we have a lot of games. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we will practice hard and then get ready for Thursday because we have to play two that night.”

The Hornets will play in the first round of the MIAA Tournament at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 30 in Overland Park, Kan.

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Outfielder Jenna Potter hits a line drive Tuesday afternoon against the Missouri Western Griffons at Turnbull Field. The Hornets split the double header 3-0, 6-7. Kellen Jenkins/The Bulletin

The Emporia State softball team split the series 1-1 against Missouri Western on Tuesday at the Trusler Complex. The Hornets won game one 3-0 and lost game two 7-6.

“I thought pitching wise we did not show up in game two,” said Head Coach Kristi Bredbenner. “We got too behind in the count and gave up too many hits, especially hits with runners in scoring position.”

On defense, senior Megan Denise led the Hornets in the circle with four strike-outs and no walks, throwing her fifth shutout of the season in game one.

The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the third inning, when sophomore Abby Hughes hit a home run to score two, getting her tenth home run of the season. Junior Miranda Campbell hit a home run right after, getting her sixth home run of the season.

Senior Jennifer Dace, sophomore Abby Smith and senior Jill Peters all got one hit. Hughes went 1-2 at bat with two RBI and Campbell went 2-3 at bat with one RBI.

In game two, the count was 0-0 until the third inning when MWU took the lead off of an RBI double on Kasey Smith.

ESU would tie up the game in the bottom of the third from an RBI single from Dace.

At the top of the fourth inning, the Griffons took a 5-1 lead after hitting three doubles. Keri Franks led the offensive front with a two RBI double.

The Griffons scored three runs before ESU made a pitching change to substitute Jenny Heerey for Denise. MWU would score one more run before the bottom of the fourth.

The Hornets cut the deficit to 4-2 with a home run from Smith, which barely missed the left foul post.

Denise allowed one hit and no runs in the top of the fifth inning.

The Hornets continued to get consistent at bats. Campbell hit her second home run of the series with two RBI to make it a one point game.

ESU was unable to stop the Griffons at bat in the top of the sixth inning. Denise allowed three hits and two runs to put MWU up 7-4.

For Denise, coming in halfway through the game and adjusting on the mound was difficult.

“Game two I think I should have loosened up more than I was prepared for,” Denise said. “When I went in there was runners on, I was a little overwhelmed. Aubree (Brattin) was trying to adjust from Jennifer (Heerey) to me because we throw different games so she has to call different plays and they just caught up with us.

The Hornets did not go quietly. In the bottom of the seventh, ESU kept the fans on their feet with two more runs to make it a one point game. With two out and two runners on base, Smith was last at bat for the Hornets. Smith hit a short grounder out the second base but was thrown out at first base to end the game.

Although the Hornets had nine hits in game two, Smith said they just were not hitting to the right spots.

“We put the ball in play, we just were hitting the ball right at people which makes it hard to score runs,” she said.

The Hornets swept Washburn Wednesday 4-1 in game one and 8-0 in game two.

Emporia State moves up one spot to number nine in this week’s NCAA Division II South Central Regional Softball Poll and are one spot behind West Texas A&M.

With only one more regular season match up, the Hornets are preparing for post season play.

“I know we have a great chance to win the conference tournament because these teams that we are losing to we are like this and making mistakes,” Denise added.

ESU will finish up the regular season at 2 p.m. Friday against Fort Hays State at the Trusler Complex.

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Junior infielder Miranda Campbell led the hornet offense Tuesday afternoon in a double header against Newman University at the Trusler Sports Complex. Campbell scored two runs with five RBI and a home run in the first game and got two more runs and another RBI in the second. The Hornets won the double header 9-0, 9-2. PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION DEPT.AT ESU

The Emporia State softball team swept a double header at home against Newman University on Tuesday. The Hornets won the first game, getting the run rule in the fifth inning 9-0 and finished off game two 9-2.

Senior Megan Denise threw a perfect game one, only allowing two balls to pop up to the outfield. Of Denise’s 58 throws, she allowed three batters to get three balls.

“I was hitting my spots and I had a goal coming in that I wanted to give away no more than two hits,” Denise said. “I wanted to keep it on our side to let us hit. We did and it was more comforting knowing we had nine runs and even if they did hit it that our defense would make out.”

Offensively, the Hornets dominated game one with junior infielder Miranda Campbell hitting two for two with five RBI. Senior Jill Peters hit a home run to score two.

“I have been hitting and being consistent,” Campbell said. “Hitting wise, I just needed to make contact and hit the ball hard and that was what I needed to focus on. This was a good series to do it because the pitching was perfect to get my swing back.”

In game two, the defense stayed strong as freshman Jennifer Heerey almost pitched a scoreless game, only allowing two runs on four hits in the fifth inning.

On the offensive side, the Hornets were lead by sophomore outfielder Abby Hughes who went two for three with one home run and three RBI. Campbell was three for three with one RBI.

“Offensively we had hit balls right at them and we weren’t getting them into the gaps,” said head coach Kristi Bredbenner. “We didn’t stress or anything, we just kept having quality at bat and focused on hitting the ball solid.”

According to Bredbenner, defensive improvement has been a factor to the team’s success.

“We have to get better every game and learn from our mistakes and working on fundamentals,” Bredbenner said. “The main focus has been fundamentals, getting the ground balls when we need to and just getting the job done in the game.”

For their next game against the University of Central Missouri, the Hornets are preparing for Megan Leonard, who has pitched eight consecutive shutouts and extended her consecutive scoreless innings string to 76.

“We are going to have to be aggressive when she throws a strike and lay out the rise ball,” Bredbenner said. “We need to go there with a lot of confidence and focus on hitting the ball just like any other day.”

The Hornets view the challenge at bat with optimism.

“I think it will be good for us because it will be a challenge and I think it will make us want to hit her even more just so that we can break that streak,” said sophomore infielder Angela Mahan.

The Hornets are ranked ninth and are 28-11 overall and 10-1 at home.

“It was a great game, a great series and great team work to pull it out,” Peters said.

ESU will play a double-header against UCM at 2 p.m. tomorrow in Trusler Complex.

Doug Irby/The Bulletin

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The Emporia State softball team swept a double-header against Truman State last Tuesday, winning game one with a score of 9-3 and game two with a score of 12-2.

In game one, the Hornets took the lead early when sophomore Angela Mahan drove two runners in, putting ESU up 2-0 in the first inning.

Truman did not go quietly, scoring on an unearned run in the second inning and a home run by Dani Mayer at the top of the fourth inning.

ESU capitalized at bat in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring six runs to put the score to 9-2.

The Hornets attempted to score one more to run rule and the Bulldogs would score only one more at the top of the seventh.

ESU senior Aubree Brattin ran in a score and went 2-3 at bat with four RBI. Junior Miranda Campbell ran in two scores and went 1-1 with one RBI. Mahan also ran in two scores and went 2-3 at bat.

On the defensive side, senior pitcher Megan Dennis led the Hornets on the mound. Dennis struck out six and did not allow any walks.

In game two, ESU would continue to get the lead early. Mahan and Campbell both ran in to score in the first inning.

In the second inning, Mahan hit her second home run of the year to score two more for the Hornets, making the score 4-0.

The Hornets scored two more in the fourth inning and shut down Truman on defense the entire game, only allowing the Bulldogs to score two runs in the top of the sixth inning.

In the bottom of the sixth, ESU scored eight runs to get the run rule to win the game. Manley hit a two run homer, sophomore Abby Hughes hit two runners in, sophomore Abby Smith scored on a fielder’s choice and junior Jenna Potter would finish the game with a home run hit to the left wall to score three, bringing the score to 12-2.

Leading ESU on the mound in game two, freshman pitcher Jennifer Heerey got three to strike out and only allowed two runs on six hits.

“I think my defense does a great job of backing me up,” Heerey said. “Hitting my spots and my changeups has been working a lot better lately to throw the batters off balance.”

According to Heerey, having a strong offense has helped on defense.

“I think we have just come together as a team and we have gotten hits when we needed them,” Heerey said. “They have put base hits together and when they run they game it is really nice for the pitcher to be out there on the mound and be up by that much.”

Head Coach Kristi Bredbenner said that, with conference play getting closer, the Hornets need to continue to get important wins.

“It is going to be a tough conference this year and it is going to come down to who loses the games they should have won,” Bredbenner said. “We are going to have Central and Missouri Western here which is nice but we just got to keep focusing one game at a time and beat the teams we need to beat and take it to Missouri Southern.”

According to Bredbenner, the team’s strength at bat will help capture more wins.

“Right now we are just focusing on hitting the ball up the middle and making power contact with the ball,” Bredbenner said. “We have to be able to adjust our hitting style a little bit to the pitching style. When it is slow and low we have to make sure to wait and stay low through the ball and when it is a little quicker we have to have quicker hands and get our barrel through.”

On the defensive end, Bredbenner said pitching with more experience is key to shutting down other teams at bat.

“Our pitchers have been learning from their mistakes,” she said. “Granted, we are still making some here and there, but they are fine tuning a little more and not having as many of them.”

With the next game away against Missouri Southern, Bredbenner said the team needs to focus.

“Missouri Southern right now has won more games than they did all last year already,” she said. “They are a team no one can look past and I think a couple people have and it has come back to bite them a little bit.”

The Hornets are now 24-9 in regular season play and are 5-1 in the MIAA. They will play at 2 p.m. Saturday in Joplin, Mo.

Doug Irby/The Bulletin

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Coming off of a six game winning streak, the 17-8 Emporia State softball team is preparing for their next game at home this Sunday.

According to Head Coach Kristi Bredbenner, winning the conference and being well represented in the region is something the team aspires to do to get to the World Series.

“We have been playing pretty well,” Bredbenner said. “We want to win the conference and focus on one game at a time.”

At this point in the season, Bredbenner said the team seems to be on track.

“We are over with our pre-season and I think we are peaking at the right time and getting better but we need to have a good performance,” Bredbenner said.

Although playing at home gives the Hornets an advantage, the weather could still be a factor.

“We cannot control those types of things so we have to go out there and put our best foot forward and have a good defense and offensive day and hopefully come out with four wins,” Bredbenner said.

After 25 accumulative hits in the double header last weekend against Incarnate Word, the Hornets are using the momentum to prepare for their game against Truman State.

“I think everyone is contributing one through nine in the line offensively and that is what needs to happen for us in order to be successful this year,” Bredbenner said. “We have to have everybody step up.”

Confident pitching has attributed to more success on the mound, helping the Hornets to succeed on game day.

“Our pitchers are getting better and better and that is the one thing you would like to see is your pitchers giving up less and less hits and runs every game,” Bredbenner said.

Getting more experience has helped the Hornets find their game.

“We are all doing much better making adjustments and playing with a lot more confidence,” Bredbenner added.

Although the team has had to deal was some injuries, the Hornets continue to adjust and prepare for their upcoming game.

“We have had some bumps and bruises earlier in the season that we could not recover from but right now we are not doing too badly,” Bredbenner said. “We have 15 players and feel that everyone is contributing and if someone gets hurt then we will have to deal with that when we do.”

The Hornets will play at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Trusler Sports Complex.

Doug Irby/The Bulletin

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Last Friday and Saturday the Emporia State softball team competed in the Abilene Christian University Tournament in Abilene, Texas. The Hornets competed against four teams and won three of the four games, only to be defeated by Southeastern Oklahoma 1-0.

The Hornets finished off last year’s season with a record of 48-17, raking 25^th in the NFCA Division II preseason.

The Hornets had a total of 28 hits Saturday aiding in their defeat of St. Mary’s and Northeastern Oklahoma State. The Hornets had a total of 16 hits, eight of which resulted in a score, defeating St. Mary’s 8-5. The Hornets also defeated NE OSU 7-2, with a total of 12 hits, seven of which resulted in a score.

Kristi Bredbenner is now on her third year as head coach for Emporia and was the 2007 MIAA softball coach of the year. Bredbenner lead the Hornets to their third straight MIAA regular season and fourth straight conference title in her first two years as coach.

“The top 25 provides good publicity for the team but is not very accurate until towards the end of the year,” Bredbenner said. “When it comes down to it, we’re taking it one game at a time. You never know how good you are going to be until you get towards the end of the season.”

Miranda Campbell, junior infielder, played in both the St. Mary’s and NE OSU games. Campbell said that she is looking forward to a great season.

Even though the team is ranked 25, they have set out to prove they deserve a higher ranking and are hoping to prove that by the end of the season.

Although individual effort is vital in softball, working as a team is what wins games. Being close and being able to read one’s teammates can prevent a lot of miscommunication between players.

“Any time we get runners in scoring position we are trying to get them in,” Bredbenner said. “It is all about execution and playing fundamental softball.”

Megan Dennis, senior pitcher, played a vital role in the ACU tournament pitching during the St. Mary’s game. Dennis pitched all seven innings to pick up the win, but encountered some difficulties when pitching.

“We had a hard time warming up, hard time getting our hands warm to grip the ball,” Dennis said. “I think over all… we knew we could win but we did not know the cold would be such a factor on the game.”

In preparation for the game, Dennis spent time watching videos of the teams they would be playing in order become familiar with their opponents.

When considering the team, Bredbenner agreed that the team is excelling past her expectations.

“I think that the most important thing is to be confident and be prepared,” Bredbenner said. “Past success makes confidence and a confident player is going to be successful (and) we are getting better. We are really hitting the ball well which has been the reason for our success right now is that we’re scoring a lot of runs.”

The Hornets will be competing next in the Southeastern Oklahoma Tournament Feb. 20-22. The tournament will consist of 18 teams and will be held in Durant, Okla.

Cody Grauberger/The Bulletin

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The Emporia State softball team ended last season with a record of 42-17, winning the

MIAA Regular Season and advancing to the NCAA Division II Championship game. The Hornets opened the 2009 season with a record of 3-1 with all four games on the road and ranked 25^th in the nation.

Before the season started, ESU and Nebraska-Omaha tied for first place in the MIAA Coaches Poll with 94 points each.

The Hornets brought back three new players to join the roster this season. One newcomer is freshman pitcher Jennifer Heerey, followed by sophomore Utility Player Abby Hughes, who transferred from Nebraska, as well as junior In fielder Lindsay Bower, who transferred from Johnson County Community College.

“Our main goal is to win the National Championship,” said Kristi Bredbenner, head softball coach. “For a lot of programs they can’t say that just because it is not realistic. For us it is something realistic.”

The Hornets split their first double header last Friday winning the first game 8-4. Junior Outfielder Jenna Potter hit a double with bases loaded in the top of the eighth inning, contributing to the win.

The Hornets lost their second game 7-4 against 18^th nationally ranked Colorado School of Mines where Heerey gave up six hits and five earned runs.

“I think they were ready,” Bredbenner said. “It might have been a little tough making the transition going out on the field. We were a little rusty in some areas but we definitely picked it up with our hitting.”

After Friday’s match ups, the Hornets won their second double header, scoring 5-2 in the first game and 6-4 in the second match. Junior infielder Miranda Campbell went two for two with two runs batted in against CSM.

“The first weekend I thought we did great,” Bredbenner said. “I thought the pitchers pitched well and we got enough hits to score enough runs to win those games.”

The Hornets are in second place in the MIAA and ranked second in team batting with 52 homeruns and 307 runs batted in. On the other side of the mound, the Hornets are ranked second in team pitching with an ERA of 2.10.

ESU will play their first opponent in the MIAA Feb.14 in the Abilene Christian Tournament. The Hornets will go on to play their first home game March 13 for the start of the ESU Spring Tournament in Emporia.

“The last couple tournaments we really want to focus on getting acclimated,” Bredbenner said. “We want to get out on the field and work on the things that we need to work on to be a better softball team so that when we get to conference play in the MIAA we are ready to go.”

Cristian Echeverria/The Bulletin

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