Emporia High swept in regular-season finale
By Stephen Coleman - Special Gazette
Friday, May 15, 2009
Inconsistent defense spoiled senior day for Emporia High, as the Lady Spartans allowed 13 unearned runs in extending their losing skid to 15 while falling twice to the Washburn Rural Junior Blues.
EHS lost the first game 6-0, while the second game ended in a 15-0 run-rule drubbing after four innings.
The first game started off shakily for the Lady Spartans as they surrendered two runs in the first without giving up a hit. A leadoff walk followed by a three-base error plated the first run, with a sacrifice fly scoring a second run for Rural.
Washburn Rural’s Paige Ladenburger was perfect the first time through EHS’s batting order before Katie Weaver grounded a one-out single through the middle in the fourth inning. After that, Washburn’s pitcher made it look easy. The Lady Spartans struggled to adjust at the plate, as they struck out 13 times and mustered only three hits in their offensive attack.
Two of those hits came back-to-back in leading off the seventh, but they were left stranded and the shutout remained.
Freshman Gabriella Bohrer pitched for EHS (2-18), and after the first settled in to pitch well, allowing only two earned runs in her seven innings of work.
“I was really nervous,” Bohrer said. “I’ve never started the first game before. The first inning, was a little rough but then I got comfortable and started doing better.”
Bohrer’s shortstop, Hilary Heinrichs, was kept busy behind her pitcher in the middle innings when she started getting a lot of ground balls.
“She did really well,” Heinrichs said. “Being a freshman and coming in, that’s a tough thing to do, especially on senior night. It was a big crowd, and it’s the defending state champions we’re playing and she just came in and did her job. I tried to talk to her the whole time and keep her calm, and I think everybody supported her out there and we did our best to play defense.”
Washburn Rural (19-1) got two hits in the second, but those runners were stranded, as was a runner after a two-out triple in the fifth. Bohrer held tough, allowing single tallies in the third and sixth before giving up two final runs in the seventh on a double from Kelsey Warkentine.
Coach Ray Owens appreciated the efforts by Bohrer and the EHS defense in the first game.
“They played hard,” Owens said. “That’s the kind of stuff we needed to be doing all year. It’s a positive thing to take Washburn Rural, even in (Game Two) to take them to four (innings) instead of getting beat in three or two is a positive. They’re a good ballclub.”
Game Two had fewer bright spots with Rural batting around in the first and third innings, plating five runs in each. The big hit of the day came again from Warkentine, who lined a grand slam to left in the third. She finished the day 4-for-5, with a double, homer, three runs scored and eight RBIs.
Cassandra Huth struggled with her control and surrendered seven earned runs in her outing. Bohrer returned to the mound in the fourth to shut the door on the Lady Blues’ scoring.
Owens continued to be baffled by the Lady Spartans’ offensive woes.
“We started out early in the year hitting good,” he said. “I wish I knew what caused us go downhill. It is a mental thing. One of the players said it best: We need some players to get mentally tough.”
Even so, he was proud of what they did Thursday.
“They have nothing to be ashamed of,” he said. “If I’m not mistaken, (Rural has) run-ruled about every team in the league and we didn’t get run-ruled both games. We played good ball for the most part.”
Thursday at Trusler
Game One
Washburn Rural 201 001 2 — 6 7 0
Emporia 000 000 0 — 0 3 3
WP — Ladenburger. LP — Bohrer.
2B — WR: Warkentine. 3B — WR: Woner.
Game Two
Washburn Rural 535 2 — 15 15 0
Emporia 000 0 — 0 3 6
WP — Holmberg. LP — Huth.
2B — WR: K. Lewis, Lingard, Yoder; EHS: Heinrichs.
HR — WR: Warkentine.