The Emporia State Women’s Softball team took on the MIAA Tournament this past weekend. They played a series of five games, finding themselves in the finals and winning the title of MIAA Champions. This women’s team made a huge comeback coming off of an 8th place finish the previous year. Over the course of the weekend they played Washburn, Northwest Missouri, Lindenwood and the University of Central Oklahoma. All games were played in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The first of the five games was against the long time rivals, Washburn University. This was a very low scoring game as there were only three total runs scored throughout the games entirety. All three of these runs were scored by the Hornets and were scored at the top of the first inning, making for a very defensive game for both sides. The final score was 3-0, Hornets.
The second game was played against Northwest Missouri State University. This game was a lot more offensive as many more points were scored. By the third inning, the Hornets had already put four runs on the board, leading the scoring, 4-0 early on. In the fourth inning the Bearcats decided to rally as they scored two runs at the top of the inning and the Hornets followed suit to score two at the bottom of the inning. The fifth and sixth innings proved scoreless for both sides. The seventh inning provided a majority of the Bearcats runs as they scored eight runs in an effort to outscore the Hornets. However, the Hornets also scored five runs and narrowly won the game, 11-10.
The third game was played against Lindenwood University. The Hornets got off to a positive start as they scored the first four runs of the game, scoring one in the first inning and three in the second. Lindenwood followed suit and scored three runs in the third, closening the score, 4-3. The fourth inning was scoreless for both sides. The fifth inning provided two runs for the Hornets and did not provide for the Lions. In the sixth inning the Hornets scored three runs while the Lions scored one. Lindenwood scored one final run in the seventh inning to end the game, 9-5, Hornets.
The first game against the University of Central Oklahoma seemed like an even match as both teams scored two runs each in the first inning. However, in the second UCO began to pull ahead as they scored three runs while the Hornets scored zero. The Hornets answered back quickly, scoring two runs in the next inning, however, they could not hold off the Bronchos as they scored the final two runs of the game in the top of the fourth inning. This was the first and only loss of the weekend for the Hornets, falling to UCO, 4-7.
The final game of the weekend was also against UCO, however, this one had a different result. The Hornets scored two runs in the first two innings as they were now up 2-0 at the top of the third. Neither team scored in the third inning and UCO continued that not scoring streak until the finale of the game. The Hornets, however, scored four more runs in the top of the fifth inning to finish the game with a score of 6-0, beating UCO and taking the title of MIAA Champions.
“We did a great job of going out on the field with the mentality of playing to have fun and to enjoy the experience,” Said freshman Presley Miller. “This kept us relaxed and we play our best when we’re relaxed and having fun. Also, everyone did a great job of stepping up to do their part and everyone did something to contribute to the win.”
