The Emporia State athletics department was busy again over this past weekend.
The Lady Hornets started Saturday with a 6-1 Senior Day win against Northeastern State to wrap up the regular season. ESU swept the doubles point with wins at #3 and #2 doubles and led in the first set in the third match when it was abandoned. Paige Stranghoner led off singles with a 6-0, 6-0 win at #6 singles before Anastasia Pesic continued the momentum winning at #5 singles dropping just two games. Lilie Bizouerne clinched the dual with a 6-2, 6-1 victory at #4 singles for ESU. Yulia Klimova won a marathon match at #2 singles coming from behind to win 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-7). ESU (10-9, 5-4 MIAA) heads to Springfield, Mo. Friday for the MIAA Tournament. The Lady Hornets are the No. 5 seed and will face Central Oklahoma in the first round. The Hornet tennis team’s match on Sunday was cancelled at Southeastern Oklahoma State. ESU begins action in the MIAA/GAC Tournament on Wednesday in Springfield, Mo. taking on Ouachita Baptist.
Track & Field wrapped up the regular season at the Rock Chalk Classic on Saturday with five event wins. Ty Anderson was the highlight of the day for the Hornets winning the 100m dash and the long jump. The team of Anderson, Kingsley Bennett, Isaac Tarango, and Alden Mollerus won the 4x100m relay. The Hornet team of Bryson Turner, Israel Domeh, Braden Lipgens, and Emmanuel Dukpe won the 4x400m relay. Mason Bina had the lone win for the Lady Hornets winning the women’s 800m run. ESU hosts the MIAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships beginning Friday at Welch Stadium.
Softball wrapped up the season splitting the Turnpike Tussle on the road at Washburn Saturday. Game one was all Washburn in an 8-0 shutout. The home team drilled three home runs and outhit ESU 9-4 in the game. The Lady Hornets bounced back to win game two 4-2 in extra innings. Kennedi Topping doubled in a run in the second before Taryn Burkhardt singled in a second run to put E-State up 2-0, but Washburn tied it in the sixth. In the eighth, Julianna De Luna walked with the bases loaded before Leslie Ramos used a sacrifice fly to push another run across. Jordan Harrison (15-7) went eight innings for the complete game victory scattering seven hits while allowing just one earned run to pick up the win. The Lady Hornets (30-22, 10-14 MIAA) are the No. 8 seed in the MIAA Tournament and face host Fort Hays State in the first round Wednesday. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m. The winner will advance to play top-seed and regular season champion Central Oklahoma.
