The Emporia High baseball team got improved pitching and better hitting Wednesday night in a doubleheader against Topeka High, but it was not enough to translate into wins for the Spartans.
Topeka High twice rallied to defeate EHS, earning an 18-13 in Game One and an 8-7 victory in eight innings in Game Two.
Game Two was particularly heartbreaking for the Spartans, who took a 7-6 lead in their half of the eighth inning but quickly saw it erased in the bottom half of the frame.
With two runners on, Topeka High’s Dillon Hazlett hit a drive to the left-field wall that allowed one run to score. But on the relay, EHS bobbled the ball, which allowed Hazlett to get to third to push the winning run home.
In Game One, Emporia jumped out to a 10-0 lead after three innings after scoring two runs in the first and and another eight runs in the third.
However, the Trojans came back with a six-run attack in the bottom of the third to begin their rally. Topeka High would go on to score four, three and five runs in the next three innings, respectively, to overtake the Spartans.
“I saw improvement on pitching and hitting,” EHS coach Mike Strickland said. “Right now, we are taking baby steps, and that’s fine. We’re doing better.”
TOPEKA HIGH 18-8, EMPORIA 13-7
Wednesday at Topeka
Emporia 208 210 0 — 13 14 3
Topeka High 006 435 x — 18 16 3
Keisler and Clark; Griffiths, Zarazua (3), Hazlett (5) and Williamson. W — Hazlett (1-1). L — Keisler. 2B — Emp: Krause, Johnson; TH: Williamson.
Second game
Emporia 101 022 01 — 7 6 5
Topeka High 300 012 02 — 8 8 2
T. Anderson, Knight (3) and Stone; Smith, Guevara (5) and Wakes, Williamson (5). W — Guevara (2-1). L — Knight. 2B — TH: Hazlett. 3B — TH: Hazlett.