The Emporia State softball team played its first home games of the year Friday and swept Nebraska-Kearney at the Trusler Sports Complex. The Lady Hornets plated six in the third on the way to a 9-1 run-rule win in six innings in game one. UNK scored first, but ESU stole three bases in the first and plated two on wild pitches in the bottom half of the inning. ESU used a four-hit third inning to score six as Brooke Flewelling capped the inning with a two-run homer. A Juliana De Luna single in the sixth invoked the run rule to end the game. Gracie Rabe (8-8) pitched four innings and picked up her first win in conference play.
In game two, ESU capitalized again on Loper miscues on the way to a 6-0 victory. ESU scored three runs in the second on two UNK wild pitches. The next inning, Flewelling went yard again for a three-run shot, her 11th homer of the year. She said the key to the wins was keeping the team’s focus on each individual game.
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Head coach April Rosales said it was important for the team to maintain confidence after struggling offensively last weekend.
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Jordan Harrison (11-3) went the distance for a complete-game five-hit shutout in game two. Emporia State (24-12, 5-5 MIAA) hosts Fort Hays State Saturday on Alumni Day and will celebrate the program’s 1980 AIAW National Championship team. The doubleheader begins at 12:00 p.m.
