February 3, 2024 – Emporia State fell to Concordia-St. Paul 8-2 and Minnesota State 2-1 on Saturday at the Mankato Dome Tournament.
Game 1 vs. Concordia-St. Paul
Emporia State got a leadoff single from
Abbey Ward in the top of the first but were unable to score against the Bears.
Concordia-St. Paul tallied six hits and a pair of walks as they scored seven runs in the first against the Hornets.
Both teams were held without a run over the next three innings before Emporia State got on the board in the top of the fifth.
Emma Furnish opened the inning with an infield single before stealing second and moving to third on a ground out.
Juliana De Luna then drove in Furnish with a sacrifice bunt.
The Bears would add a run in the bottom of the fifth to take a 8-1 lead over the Hornets.
Emporia State's final run came in the top of the sixth on an RBI double from
Alexis Dial to score
Lexi Williams. The Hornets were held scoreless in the seventh as they fell 8-2 against the Bears on Saturday morning.
Alexis Dial went 2-3 with a double and an RBI.
Abbey Ward and
Emma Furnish each recorded one hit.
Game 2 vs. Minnesota State
In game two on Saturday, the Hornets and Mavericks settled into a pitching duel as both teams combined for just eight hits in the game.
Emporia State struck first, putting up their lone run in the top of the first.
Abbey Ward got the game started with a leadoff double down the right field line and would later score on a sacrifice fly from
Alexis Dial to put the Hornets ahead 1-0.
Jayda VanAckeren got the starting nod for the Hornets and worked around a one-out single in the bottom of the first to keep the Mavericks off the board.
Following a scoreless second inning for the Hornets, Minnesota State broke through in the bottom half to tie the game 1-1.
Both pitchers settled in following the second inning as the Hornets were held without a hit and VanAckeren held the Mavericks to just two hits over the next three innings.
In the sixth, Emporia State would record just their third hit of the game, a leadoff bunt single from
Emma Furnish but the Hornets were unable to push a run across.
Minnesota State drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the sixth and following a pair of ground outs, the Mavericks took a 2-1 lead on a two-out double.
Emporia State was unable to mount a rally in the seventh, being retired in order as the fell 2-1 against the Minnesota State Mavericks.
Jayda VanAckeren allowed two runs on five hits across 6.0 innings pitched.
At the plate, the Hornets tallied just three hits with
Abbey Ward,
Lexi Williams and
Emma Furnish each recording one.
Emporia State returns to action on Sunday, February 4 on the final day of the Mankato Dome Tournament. Game time for game one against Minnesota State is scheduled for 9:00 a.m.
