HORNET SOFTBALL SPLITS DAY TWO OF MANKATO DOME CLASSIC

February 8, 2020-Emporia State softball split day two of the Mankato D-II Dome Classic on Saturday, defeating Concordia-St. Paul 5-2 and falling 12-7 to host Minnesota State.
 
ESU 5, CSP 2
For the second day in a row the Hornets jump on top early against the Golden Bears, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning.  Abby Ward and Rachel Kauss started the game with back to back singles and Brylie Bassess drove them both in with a single down the right field line.  With one out Gabby Biondo singled and Brittanie Shepherd followed with a two run single up the middle for a 4-0 lead.
Hannah Mihalik hit a two RBI single in the bottom of the second to cut the lead in half at 4-2 but that would be the last score for Concordia-St. Paul.  Hannah Steeby delivered an insurance run in the top of the seventh with a lead off home run to make it 5-2 and Kerrigan Dixon tossed her fifth straight scoreless inning in the bottom of the inning to preserve the win.
Shepherd was two for four with two RBI while Steeby went three for four with the solo homer and Basset had two RBI with a single.  Dixon went the distance in the circle, allowing two runs on five hits with three strikeouts for her first win as a Hornet.
 
MSU 12, ESU 7
The Mavericks erupted for nine runs on seven hits in the top of the first in the night cap on the way to the 12-7 win.  Freshman Josie Harrison gave up seven runs, four of them earned in 0.1 inning.  Carly Esselman greeted her with a lead off home run and all eight batters Harrison faced reached base.  Sydney Righi came on in relief and after a lead off walk to load the bases, Esselman reached on an error that cleared the bases and made it 8-0.  With two outs Hailey Forshee laced an RBI double to wrap up the first inning scoring for the Mavs.
The Hornets got two runs back in the bottom of the first thanks to an RBI double by Bassett and an RBI single by Biondo.  Emporia State got three more in the bottom of the second on a two run single from Kauss and an RBI single by Steeby to make it 9-5.
Righi settled down after the first and retired 11 of 13 batters before giving up two runs in the fifth on a two run single by Forshee that gave Minnesota State an 11-5 lead.  Emporia State got the two runs back in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI double by Cassidy Beem who eventually came around to score herself on an attempted double steal that saw Destiny Ojigoh thrown out after a run down.  Madi Newman produced the final run of the night with an RBI single up the middle that plated Esselman with her fourth run of the night.
Abbey Ward was three for four with two runs scored for Emporia State and Kauss drove in a team high two runs on one hit.
 
The Hornets will wrap up their season opening weekend in Mankato on Sunday against Lewis.  First pitch in the Mankato Dome is set for 9:00 a.m.