The Emporia State athletic department had a full slate of activity on their Sting into Spring weekend in Emporia.
The Lady Hornet tennis team started Saturday with a 6-1 loss to Missouri Western. E-State’s Giovanna Ferreira and Carla Paul Piquer won 6-3 at #1 doubles, but the Griffons won the other two matches to claim the doubles point. Western won the first four matches of singles to clinch the dual. Erin Cahill picked up the only point by winning a super tiebreak at #5 singles. Emporia State dropped their fourth-straight dual falling 6-1 to Northwest Missouri on Sunday morning. Again Ferreira and Paul Piquer prevailed at #1 doubles but didn’t get any help losing the doubles point. Ferreira won at #1 singles 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 1-0 in a super tiebreak, but E-State didn’t win another set in singles. ESU (8-10, 2-5 MIAA) wraps up the regular season this week beginning Friday morning with a trip to Northeastern State.
The Hornet tennis team fell on Sunday 6-1 to Northwest Missouri. The Bearcats took two of three to win the doubles point. ESU dropped the first four matches in singles to surrender the dual. ESU’s only win in singles came on a Bearcat retirement. ESU (8-8, 2-2 MIAA/GAC) wraps up the regular season on Friday afternoon traveling to Augustana.
The Lady Hornet softball team picked up a sweep over Northwest Missouri on Saturday. ESU opened up the doubleheader with six runs in the first on the way to an 11-3 run-rule victory in game one in six innings. The Big Gold blasted off for six runs on six hits in the first as Ally Miller drove in three on a home run to center field. She later added a two-run homer to left field as part of a three-run sixth inning to put the game away. Every Lady Hornet in the lineup picked up a hit in game one. Hannah Butterbaugh (11-5) pitched 2.1 innings of scoreless relief to get the win. ESU never trailed in game two on the way to a 6-1 victory over the Bearcats to sweep the series. Brooke Flewelling homered down the left field line in the first, but Northwest answered with their own solo shot in the second. ESU took the lead back on a single in the third by Sydney Wagner before Brynley Smith homered in the fourth to extend the lead. Flewelling finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs while Wagner drove in two runs. Chloe Wilson (5-3) went 6.1 innings for ESU to pick up the win.
The Lady Hornets stretched their winning streak to four with a 5-4 victory over Missouri Western in game one of their Sunday doubleheader. Miller stayed hot, doubling home a run in the second for the Big Gold and ESU doubled the lead on a Flewelling sacrifice fly in the third. Western got one back in the fifth but a Wagner RBI answered right back for E-State. The Griffons tied it up in the sixth, but the Lady Hornets took the lead back on a bunt and a groundout in the sixth and held on in the seventh. Taryn Burkhardt finished 3-for-3 while Izzy Sloan (3-2) was assigned the win in relief for ESU. Morgan Tomlinson started and closed the game giving up just one run and two hits in four innings for her first save of the year. The Griffons blew game two open with seven runs in the sixth an run-ruled the Lady Hornets 12-1 in game two. Western led 5-0 through four before an Avery Brewer home run got E-State on the board in the fifth, but Western put the game out of reach in the sixth with five hits aided by two Lady Hornet errors. Chloe Wilson (4-4) pitched the first inning for ESU and took the loss. ESU (26-15, 12-8 MIAA) will play a makeup series with Central Missouri on the road Wednesday.
