March 7, 2025 – Emporia State softball fell in a pair of pitching duals against #6 Rogers State on Friday afternoon, as the Hornets dropped both game one and game two 3-2 against the Hillcats.
Game 1 (ESU 2, RSU 3 – 9 inn.)
Emporia State jumped in front of the sixth-ranked Hillcats in the first inning with two runs.
Sydney Wagner singled to lead off the game, and after a walk drawn by
Taryn Burkhardt,
Juliana De Luna laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position.
Mallory Moore gave the Hornets the lead with a sacrifice fly to score Wagner, and with two outs,
Ally Miller singled up the middle double the Emporia State lead to 2-0.
Gracie Rabe got the start in game one and worked around a two-out double in the bottom of the first to maintain the 2-0 lead. Emporia State added two more hits in the second inning, but both were left stranded. Rogers State was able to pull a run back in the bottom half, as Bohuslavicky homered to make the score 2-1.
Rabe and Hillcat starter Jade Sanders settled into a pitcher's duel, as both teams each tallied just one hit over the next three innings.
Rogers State pulled level in the sixth, as Lyon lifted a leadoff home run, tying the game 2-2. The game would remain tied into extra innings, and the Hornets were unable to generate any baserunners against Sanders throughout the remainder of the game. The Hillcats got a walk-off home run from Morales to take game one 3-2 in nine innings.
Mallory Moore and
Ally Miller had RBI for the Hornets and
Gracie Rabe pitched 8.1 innings and allowed three runs on five hits.
Game 2 (ESU 2, RSU 3)
Game two of the doubleheader started in similar fashion to the first, as Emporia State took a first inning lead on a sacrifice fly from
Mallory Moore, going up 1-0 on the Hillcats.
Jordan Harrison got the start in the circle for game two, and after picking up four strikeouts in the first two frames, Rogers State broke through in the third inning. A two-out single up the middle by Rogers gave the Hillcats a 2-1 advantage.
The Hornets answered back with two outs in the fourth inning, tying the game on an RBI single from
Brooke Flewelling to make the score 2-2. Rogers State would regain their lead in the bottom half of the fourth, as a leadoff triple followed by an RBI single put the sixth-ranked Hillcats ahead 3-2.
Over the final three innings, Emporia State was unable to mount a rally, as the Hornets managed just one hit against Hillcat starter Harley Culie in the final three innings, falling 3-2 in game two of the doubleheader.
Emporia State had five hits in game two and managed just seven baserunners.
Jordan Harrison pitched all 6.0 innings for the Hornets and allowed just three runs on while striking out eight batters.
The Hornets will be back in action on Saturday, March 8 as they take on Northeastern State in a doubleheader from Tahlequah, Okla. First pitch in game one is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.
