The Emporia High softball team got a combined 39 baserunners during Thursday night’s doubleheader against Highland Park in Topeka, yet the Lady Spartans still lost in both games, 6-5 and 9-7.
In Game One, EHS knocked out a whopping 16 hits and drew five walks, but stranded 16 of those baserunners — three times the Lady Spartans left the bases loaded — while in Game Two, Emporia drew nine walks and had nine hits, but still fell by two runs despite a seven-run second inning.
“We’re just not getting the key hits when it counts,” EHS coach Ray Owens said. “We talked about that going into the game, about needing to bear down and get key hits. It’s frustrating for the girls to be so close and not be able to do it.”
In the first game, Emporia jumped out to a 3-0 lead with a trio of runs in the second inning before Highland Park tied it with three runs of its own in the fourth.
Emporia scored twice in the sixth to retake the lead at 5-3, but the Lady Scots scored single runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings to tie the game and force extra innings.
In the eighth, EHS could not push a run across the plate while Highland Park ended the game with a run in its half of the inning to win, 6-5.
All 16 of Emporia’s hits in the game were singles, with the lone extra-base hit of the contest a triple by Highland Park.
In Game Two, EHS gave up seven runs to Highland Park in the first inning to dig itself into a 7-0 hole, but the Lady Spartans fought back with a seven-run inning of their own in the second.
Lauren Kimble and Lexi Hileman led off the second inning with back-to-back singles. Two batters later, Lenae Wells and Katie Weaver each singled to drive in a run apiece to make it 7-2.
Hilary Heinrichs then walked to load the bases for McKenzie Cinelli, who blasted a double to clear the bases to make it 7-5. Brendy Muninger then walked, and another two batters later, Kimble produced a game-tying double that scored Cinelli and Muninger to make it 7-all.
The game would not be tied for long, however, as Highland Park scored its final two runs in the bottom of the second to go ahead, 9-7, and neither team scored after that. In the first two innings, EHS surrendered all eight of its walks and had two errors to aid Highland Park’s cause.
“We did well and fought back,” Owens said. “We just flattened out after that. With nine hits and nine walks, you’ve got to come up with more than seven runs.”
The Lady Spartans will now wait to see where they will go for Regional play next week. Owens said the most likely destination would be at Shawnee Heights in Topeka.
Thursday at Topeka
Game One
Highland Park 6, Emporia 5
Emporia 030 002 00 — 5 16 4
Highland Park 000 301 11 — 6 13 2
Heinrichs, Huth (4) and Muninger. Fletcher and Barnes. W — Fletcher. L — Huth. 3B — HP: Cushenberry.
Game Two
Highland Park 9, Emporia 7
Emporia 070 000 0 — 7 9 2
Highland Park 720 000 X — 9 9 0
Lynch, Heinrichs (1), Huth (3) and Muninger. King and Gaines. W — King. L — Heinrichs. 2B — Emporia: Cinelli, Kimble. HP: Cushenberry (2), Williams, Gaines.