March 31, 2017-For the first time this year the #9 Emporia State baseball team has lost consecutive games after a 4-3 loss at Central Oklahoma on Friday afternoon. The Hornets, now 23-7 overall and 12-4 in the MIAA, will look to avoid their first sweep of the season on Saturday in Edmond, Okla.
For the second straight day the Bronchos got on the board first, scoring a run on an attempted double steal in the first inning. They went up 2-0 thanks to an unearned run in the third inning.
The Hornets tied the score in the top of the fifth inning when Mack Gowing led off with a single and Taylor Sanagorski walked. After a fly out, Levi Ashmore walked to load the bases. Alex White came through with an RBI single and Mason Brown hit a sac fly to tie the score at 2-2. Emporia State took a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth when Ryan McBroom hit a lead off double and went to third on a sac bunt by Kaden Shaffer. Gowing then drove McBroom in with a sac fly.
Central Oklahoma answered in the bottom of the sixth when Anthony Alvarez led off with a triple and scored on a wild pitch to tie the score at 3-3. Korey Floyd hit a lead off single in the seventh and stole second and third. Layne Downing, who came on in relief of starter Tanner Cairns in the sixth, looked like he was getting out of the inning without giving up a run but an error allowed Alvarez to reach and plated Floyd for a 4-3 Broncho lead.
McBroom went two for three with a double and an RBI while Gowing was one for three with a run and an RBI. Downing took the loss in relief, giving up two runs, one of them earned in 2.0 innings.
The Hornets will look to avoid their first sweep of the season on Saturday. First pitch has been moved up to 11:00 a.m. in an effort to avoid rain later in the day in Edmond, Okla.
