The #3 Rogers State softball team had five home runs account for nine of their 17 runs Saturday afternoon in a doubleheader sweep of the Lady Hornets at the Trusler Sports Complex. Rogers State got their offense going late in a 14-4 five-inning run rule in game one before using an eighth-inning round tripper to notch a 3-2 victory in game 2. RSU was held off the scoreboard in the first game as ESU took an early 1-0 lead after one before exploding for 14 runs with three in the third, six in the fourth, and five in the fifth. ESU answered with three in the fourth but it wasn’t enough as ESU was out hit 15-5 in the game while committing two errors. Gracie Rabe gave up seven hits and six runs in 3.0 innings to take the loss but only three of the runs were earned. All five runs in game two were accounted for by solo home runs. ESU had solo shots in the first and second inning from Emma Furnish and Brooke Flewelling to give the Lady Hornets are 2-0 lead, but the Hillcats had two homers in the fifth to tie it and a solo shot in the eighth to win it. ESU had runners on base consistently at the end of the game but stranded nine in the loss. Gracie Rabe (5-5) allowed four hits and just the home run in the eighth but took two losses a day after earning both wins. Assistant coach Megan Hill said after the game that the defense hurt the team early.
She said that E-State showed in both games they have the confidence to comeback.
The Lady Hornets fall to 19-12 and 3-5 in the MIAA and make their final MIAA road trip to face Lincoln as a conference foe Friday. First pitch is set for 2:00 p.m.
