The Emporia State softball teams won two games over Newman to wrap up their home schedule at the Trusler Sports Complex on Saturday.
The Lady Hornets finished the first game strong for a 12-4 run-rule victory over the Jets. The Navy & Red opened the scoring with a surprising homer, just the second for the Jets all season, to lead 2-0, but ESU responded with a five-run third inning highlighted by a three-run double by Kennedi Topping off the top of the right center field fence. After an unearned run in the fourth for NU, ESU scored three in the bottom half of the inning to lead 8-3. NU scored again in the fifth, but the Lady Hornets put it away with four runs in the bottom of the inning.
NU scored first in game two before ESU responded and then held on late for a 5-4 victory. The Jets scored an unearned run in the first before ESU scored the next five runs in the game. The Jets chipped away with single runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh but ran out of outs. Gracie Rabe (10-10) who picked up the win in game one came on with two on and nobody out in the seventh and retired three Jets in order allowing just one inherited runner to score to pick up her team-leading third save. Head coach April Rosales said the team picked up the bats after battling Senior Day nerves in the first game.
Taryn Burkhardt went 3-for-3 in game one and had four hits on the day while stealing five bases to move into fourth on the ESU single-season list. She said the team’s trying to keep their focus on just one game at a time with the postseason looming.
Emporia State (29-21, 9-13 MIAA) moved from 12th place to eighth place with the wins and wrap up the regular season facing Washburn in Topeka for the Turnpike Tussle. First pitch is set for Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
