February 1, 2025-Emporia State split a pair of games on Saturday at the Branson Leadoff Classic. The Hornets fell 7-3 in their first game to Southwestern Oklahoma before getting a 6-5 come from behind win over Upper Iowa in eight innings in the nightcap.
SWOSU 7, ESU 3
In the opening game of the day, the Hornets got on the board first with a two run homer from
Brooke Flewelling in the top of the first. The Bulldogs scored four runs on four singles and a walk in the third inning. Emporia State got one run back in the fourth on an RBI double by
Kennedy Topping. Southwestern Oklahoma answered with three runs, two of them unearned in the fourth to go up 7-3.
Flewelling went one for three with the two run homer while
Sydney Wagner was two for three with a run scored.
ESU 6, UIU 5 (8 Innings)
Emporia State scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings and then scored two in the eighth for a 6-5 win over Upper Iowa in the second game on Saturday.
The Peacocks scored in the first and the Hornets answered with one in the fifth on an RBI single from
Taryn Burkhardt. Upper Iowa took advantage of a lead off error in the seventh and a pair of fielder's choices before Tristan Doster delivered a two run triple to take a 4-1 lead.
With one out in the bottom of the seventh
Karli Wehunt worked a walk and went to third on double by
Kinsey Perine. Burkhardt followed with another double that plated two. Flewelling would get a ground out RBI to tie the game and send it to extra innings.
With the tiebreaker in effect Addyson Alber got an RBI double to put the Peacocks up 5-4.
Jordan Harrison and
Gracie Rabe combined to get out of the inning with no further damage. After a sac bunt sent pinch runner
Kylie Chester to third base,
Avery Brewer tripled her in to tie the game at 5-5.
Haley Garnett reached on a fielder's choice when pinch runner Jayda Van Ackeren was thrown out trying to score. She went to second on a single by Wehunt. With two outs Perine hit a grounder to third and the throw to first was not caught cleanly allowing Garnett to score from second to win the game.
Burkhardt went two for four with three RBI and a run scored.
The Hornets will wrap up their trip to the Ozarks on Sunday with games against Arkansas Tech at 9:00 a.m. and Minnesota-Crookston at 11:00 a.m. at the Branson Rec Plex.
