It wasn’t a victory for a championship or even for postseason advancement, but Samantha Sheeley will take it anyway.
Last May, the Emporia State softball team faced Nebraska-Omaha in the championship game of the North Central Regional in Mankato, Minn., and on that day, the Mavericks defeated the Hornets, 5-3, to earn a trip to the NCAA D-II World Series.
It was Sheeley who took the loss after giving up four runs in just 1 1/3 innings.
So when Sheeley stepped in the pitcher’s circle when No. 24 ESU squared off in the first game of a nonconference doubleheader with No. 7 Nebraska-Omaha on Wednesday at the Trusler Sports Complex, she had a least a little bit of that loss last spring on her mind.
“I was pretty pumped,” Sheeley said. “Obviously, after last year, I was ready to come back and take it to them.”
Sheeley seemingly took out nearly a year’s worth of pent-up frustration on the Mavericks in Game One by stifling the Nebraska-Omaha bats, pitching a complete-game, two-hit shutout in a 5-0 victory for the Hornets.
Sheely nearly earned the Hornets another win in Game Two, as she came on in relief of Brittany Norris and almost helped bring ESU back before the Hornets dropped a 5-4 decision.
“I just wanted to shut them down,” said Sheeley, who struck out six and walked just one in her Game-One victory. “I think they got a little lucky, though. I thought we should have taken two from them.
“But it was good to see them and test ourselves.”
With Sheeley dominating from the circle in Game One, an efficient ESU offense went about making the most of its scoring opportunities.
Emporia State got all the scoring it would need in the second inning when Jenna Potter smacked a grounder past a diving shortstop to score Shelbe Hughes from second to put ESU ahead, 1-0.
“A lot of pressure was released right then,” Potter said. “It felt really good.”
Emporia State added what were essentially insurance runs in the third inning, as the Hornets scored four more times in the frame highlighted by a two-run home run by Hughes, her first long ball of the season.
After Jennifer Dace singled up the middle to drive home Miranda Campbell and Jessie Wiard to make it 3-0, Hughes lined a one-out pitch from UNO starter Melissa Negrete to straightaway center to put ESU ahead, 5-0.
Potter went 2-for-3 with an RBI in Game One, while Hughes went 1-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBI. Of Emporia’s six hits in Game One, four drove in runs.
“I complimented the girls about the fact that in the first game, we didn’t have that many hits or many runners in scoring position, but we did a great job of coming up with the clutch hits and executing,” ESU coach Kristi Bredbenner said.
In Game Two, that clutch offense seemed to disappear for the Hornets, as they rallied from an early 2-0 deficit before coming up just short from another two-run deficit a second time.
“In the first game, we came out fired up and ready to go,” Potter said. “The second game, we let them dictate the tempo, which we don’t want.”
The Mavericks took the lead in the first when Leslie Svoboda knocked a two-run home run over the right-field fence off of ESU’s starter, Norris.
However, ESU answered with a two-run third, as April Huddleston hit a double down the left-field line that scored Wiard and Aubree Brattin to tie the score at 2.
The Mavericks took the lead at 4-2 with a two-run fourth, and ESU missed out on a big opportunity in the fifth when it only managed to score one run despite having the bases loaded.
ESU stranded seven baserunners in Game Two, including stranding two runners in the seventh with ESU attempting a comeback.
The Mavericks tacked on another run in the sixth when Alli Hukill homered off Sheeley, allowing UNO to take a 5-3 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh.
The Hornets inched closer when Potter knocked a homer to center to pull ESU to within 5-4, and after Angela Mahan flied out and Wiard grounded out, Huddleston singled and Campbell walked to put the winning run on first. But Dace grounded out to the pitcher to end the threat and the game.
Sheeley came on in relief of Norris in the sixth inning, and after she gave up the long shot to Hukill, she closed out the game strong, recording another two strikeouts while giving up no other hits, allowing ESU to at least make a run at UNO late.
“I knew my team would be able to come back, and we just came up a little bit short,” Sheeley said. “It was just a matter of getting those runners in in the second game.”
Potter finished her day a combined 4-for-5 at the plate with two RBI and two runs scored.
The Hornets will play at home again on Friday when they play a doubleheader against North Dakota at noon at the Trusler Sports Complex.