March 6, 2021-Emporia State's pitching staff ran their scoreless streak to 26.0 innings with a pair of shutouts on Saturday during the ESU 5-State Classic at the Trusler Sports Complex. Emporia State defeated Mo.-St. Louis 1-0 in their first game and Southwest Baptist 3-0 in the second game. With the wins the Hornets improved to 9-1, matching their best start after ten games since 2006.
ESU 1, UMSL 0
The Hornets avenged their only loss of the year so far with a 1-0 win over the Tritons in the matinee.
Kelsey Phillips gave up a single and double in the first but helped herself with the glove as she snagged a line drive and then doubled off Scaramuzzi at third to end the inning.
Abbey Ward led off the bottom of the first with a double and went to third on a single by
Emma Furnish.
Roni Raines then delivered a sac fly to left to plate Ward and give the Hornets a 1-0 lead.
Phillips would make that hold up by retiring 18 of the next 21 batters to toss her second shutout of the season. She allowed just five hits with no walks while striking out two.
ESU 3, SBU 0
Sydney Righi continued the scoreless string in the circle for the Hornets, tossing her first shut out of the season in a 3-0 win over Southwest Baptist in the nightcap.
Both teams had runners on base in in every half inning except the bottom of the fourth before Emporia State was able to finally break through bottom of the fifth.
Destiny Ojigoh reached on an error to start the inning and went to second on a sac bunt.
Brittanie Shepherd tripled her home for the first run of the game.
Abbey Ward laid down a bunt down the third base line that SBU elected to let go foul, but it never did and Ward made it all the way to second base. Furnish then doubled off the wall in centerfield to make it 3-0.
The Hornets had a chance to add to the lead but would leave the bases loaded in the fifth and sixth innings. SBU had a chance to score in the top of the sixth when with two on Alyssa Reed laced a single to right field. Furnish came up throwing and gunned down Kaitlyn Bagby to preserve the shutout. The Bearcats brought the tying run to the plate again in the top of the seventh but Righi got a strikeout to end the game.
Furnish and Shepherd both had two hits for the Hornets with Furnish getting two RBI. Righi scattered nine hits over 7.0 innings with eight strikeouts and just one walk to record her first shutout of the season.
Emporia State will wrap up the 5-State Classic on Sunday with games against Wayne State at 12:00 p.m. and Quincy at 2:30 p.m. at the Trusler Sports Complex.
