The Emporia Legion A-16 baseball team swept a doubleheader with KCK Saturday in Kansas City, taking 7-4 and 7-3 victories.
In both games, the Emporia attack began with strong outings on the mound, as Nick Riggs tossed a complete game in the first matchup, striking out 10 while giving up 10 hits, while Dominic Rodriguez went seven innings in Game Two, fanning nine while allowing just seven hits.
“This was a real confidence booster for our kids, especially with Zone coming up,” A-16s coach Aaron Lechien said. “It’s always nice to get wins, but it’s more or less how you play going into Zone.”
The strong pitching was backed up by an opportunistic Emporia offense, as the A-16s pounded out 12 hits in Game One and another 13 in the second game to go with several KCK errors that led to more runs for Emporia.
“They made a few errors in places where we took advantage of it and got some runs,” Lechien said. “We didn’t go out and bang balls off the wall. We have the capability to do that, but we’re more the type of team where if they give us four outs, we’re going to score runs off of it.”
Rodriguez led the way at the plate for the 16s, going 6-for-9 with five singles and a double in the twinbill. In Game Two, Dylan Smith also went 2-for-3.
The A-16s are back in action at 6 tonight with a doubleheader against Manhattan in Manhattan.
A-15s split twinbill against Manhattan
The Emporia Legion A-15s got the bats going in a big way in the second game of a doubleheader against Manhattan Pro Copy Saturday in Manhattan, taking an 11-3 victory in the nightcap after dropping the first game, 4-2.
In Game Two, Emporia’s offensive attack was highlighted by a bases-loaded triple by Adam Ewy and doubles from Brian Keisler and Jacob Loucks.
“Our bats really came alive,” 15s coach Dick Evans said. “We kind of slugged the ball, and that was nice to see.”
The offense was enough for Keisler on the mound, as he picked up the win in holding Manhattan to just three runs.
The second game was a far cry from the first, as Emporia could only muster three hits in the two-run loss despite Ethan Hall keeping Emporia close with a strong outing on the mound.
“We just couldn’t hit the ball solid,” Evans said. “We only had three hits, and none of them came at very opportune times. Maybe that’s my fault. Maybe I didn’t have them ready to go.”
The A-15s next will play a home doubleheader against Lawrence at 6 p.m. Thursday night at Soden’s Grove.