Emporia State Softball overtook Augustana University on Sunday to carve out a doubleheader victory for the Hornets first at-home gameplay of the season.
In game one, scoring started in the second with neither team scoring during the first inning. Augustana advanced with 5 runs to bring the score 5-0 before sophomore infielder Brynley Smith scored first for the Hornets to put ESU on the board.
ESU held the Vikings to 5 to lie even by the end of the third and pulled ahead 6-5 in the fifth with infielder Sophia Garcia scoring off of a fly to central field by catcher Addison Callaway. A single by sophomore infielder Mallory Moore and a homer by Smith allowed 4 RBI for the Hornets.
The 3-RBI homerun marks Smith’s second of the season.
By the end of the sixth, the Hornets led 10-5, and the Vikings failed to pull any closer than a lone run in the seventh to make the score 10-6.
The score in game two would fall much closer as both teams struggled to score over seven innings and the Hornet women took the victory by a single point.
ESU scored first and early on a run by infielder Sydney Wagner batted in by infielder Brooke Flewelling. The RBI marked the only run for the Hornets until the bottom of the sixth when Callaway hit a homerun and brought herself and utility Karli Wehunt home to put the Hornets up 3-2 to the Vikings.
Game two closed out after the Vikings failed to score in the top of the seventh, giving the Hornets the double-header win.
MIAA play is next for the Hornet women as they take on Rogers State on March 13 and Northeastern State on March 14 in scheduled doubleheaders. First pitch against the Hillcats is set for 2 p.m. Friday at Trusler Sports Complex.
