Emporia State softball falls twice on Sunday

February 19, 2023-Emporia State dropped two games on Sunday at the ESU Classic. The Hornets fell 5-0 to Minnesota State in their first game and 4-0 to Oklahoma Baptist in the nightcap.
 
Game One
The Hornets could not dig out of a five run hole after two innings in a 5-0 loss to Minnesota State.
The Mavericks got a two run home run from Cheyenne Behrends in the first inning. Back to back doubles in the second made it 4-0 before a one out single made it 5-0.  Gracie Rabe came on in relief of Jayda VanAckeren and got the final two outs to end the scoring.  Rabe would pitch 5.2 scoreless innings allowing just four hits while striking out six.
Despite having base runners in five of the seven innings, with a runner on second four times, including twice with no outs, the Hornets could not get the timely hit to score a run.
 
Game Two
Oklahoma Baptist's Kayleigh Jones was one walk away from a perfect game in the Bison's 4-0 win in the final game of the day at Trusler.
Emporia State's Hannah Norquest only allowed one run through the first three innings. The Bison struck first when Reagan Ford singled, stole second and went to third on a ground out before scoring on an Emily Adler single.  That would be more than enough for Jones who struck out the first six batters she faced. OBU added a pair of two out runs in the top of the fourth to go up 3-0.  They added another run in the top of the fifth to take a 4-0 lead.
The Hornets got their first base runner when Abbey Ward walked with one out but she was erased when Alexis Dial hit into a double play to end the inning. It was the first time the Hornets had put a ball in play in fair territory in the game. Sophia Rockhold had the other ball in play as she ended the game with a ground out to third in the seventh.
Jones faced the minimum over 7.0 innings and finished with 16 strikeouts, two ground outs – one that resulted in a double play, and two foul outs.
 
Emporia State will wrap up play in the ESU Classic with two games on Monday at the Trusler Sports Complex.  The Hornets play Concordia-St. Paul at 12:15 p.m. followed by Missouri-St. Louis at 2:30 p.m.