Softball | 4/26/2014 9:12:00 PM
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Box Score 2 Game 1 box in htmlGame 2 box in htmlApril 26, 2014-The #13 Emporia State softball team clinched their eighth MIAA regular season championship in the last ten years in emphatic fashion with a pair of run rule wins at Lincoln. The Hornets won the first game 15-3 in five innings and then posted a 13-4 win in the five innings in the second game.
Emporia State hit six home runs on the day, starting with Jessica Gragg's three run homer in the first inning of game one. They would score ten runs in the second inning, highlighted by a three run homer from Kaitlyn Caston.
Gragg ended the game two for four with four RBI and two runs scored. Caston picked up her nation's leading 30th win by allowing three runs on five hits.
The Hornets put two runs on the board in the top of the first in the nightcap only to see the Blue Tigers respond with a three run homer of their own in the bottom of the inning. Emporia State tied it with a home run from Caston in the top of the third only to see Lincoln go back on top with a solo homer of their own half of the inning. The fifth inning has been big for the Hornets all year, having outscored their opponents 70-20 in the frame entering the double header, and this was no different. Emporia State scored ten runs with three home runs in the fifth to post the 13-4 run rule win.
Caston was four for four with five RBI, two runs scored, and two home runs.Gragg was one for four with three RBI and two runs scored with a homer while Jacie Stephens also added a two run homer. Eryn Stockman went the distance for her 13th win of the year.
With the wins, Emporia State secured the top spot in the MIAA Tournament. They will take on Northeastern State on Thursday, May 1 at 6:00 p.m. in the Blue Valley Recreation Complex in Overland Park, Kan.
