(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) – Jennies Softball (15-13, 5-7 MIAA) split an MIAA doubleheader with the Emporia State Hornets (22-9, 9-3 MIAA) on a brisk Tuesday evening at the South Recreation Complex, falling in game one 2-0 before winning the nightcap 6-2.
The victory in the second game snapped an 11 game losing skid for the Hornets dating back to the 2009 season.
The Jennies and Hornets battled in game one of the doubleheader, with neither team able to plate any runs until the fourth inning when Emporia State scored two to eventually seal the 2-0 shutout win.
The Hornets plated a pair of what proved to be game-winning runs in the fourth after Tricia Vogel sent a one-out, two RBI double down the left field line.
The Jennies outhit the Hornets 8-6 but stranded eight runners on-base compared to only three by Emporia State. Neither team committed an error in the contest.
Jennies right-hander Jakki Prater pitched the full seven innings, allowing two runs and striking out three, but took the loss to drop her overall record in the circle to 7-4. Karley Schmelzer picked up the win for the Hornets, also pitching a complete game, to move her record to 15-4.
In the nightcap, the Jennies took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on Emily Bybee-King’s one-out RBI single to center field.
The Jennies added another run in the bottom of the second when Ali Jo Roger’s hit a sacrifice fly to right field allowing Alex Groeger to cross the plate and increase the lead to 2-0.
Emporia State scored their first run of the game in the top of the third on a single from Vogel, cutting the Central Missouri lead in half, 2-1.
The Hornets knotted the game up briefly in the top of the fourth on Taylor Zordel’s sacrifice bunt but the Jennies answered in the bottom half of the inning, plating three runs on a double to center by Braylyn Bivens to open up a 5-2 advantage.
The Jennies increased the lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the sixth after Medora West’s single up the middle scored Brittany Knabe.
For the game, the Jennies outhit the Hornets 10-6, with both teams committing no miscues.
Katie Shockley picked up the win for the Jennies, pitching 4.2 innings in relief to improve her record to 3-4 overall. Lauren Sharp took the loss for the Hornets, dropping her record to 7-5.
The Jennies return to action Thursday, April 4 when they host Augustana (S.D.) out of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in a non-conference doubleheader at the South Recreation Complex. First pitch for game one is set for 1 p.m.