Everything was set up perfectly for Miranda Campbell on senior night. Tie game. Sixth inning. Go-ahead run on second base.
Only Washburn wasn’t about to let Campbell have her storybook moment, and unintentionally intentionally walked her to get to freshman Amanda Self.
Self hates when teams do this. It’s the ultimate disrespect, but she’s learned to embrace it. She’s also made a habit of coming through with the big hit in this situation, as she did Tuesday night against Washburn with the go-ahead RBI single in a 3-2 victory.
“It kind of does make me mad, but that’s just the fire that gets the hit in,” Self said. “I understand why they do it. Miranda’s a great hitter, but it’s kind of annoying too.”
The Game Two win completed the sweep, as the ninth-ranked Hornets also got an 8-0 run-rule victory in Game One to keep their perfect conference record intact.
Game Two was not so easy. The Lady Blues took advantage of a fly ball that left fielder Linda Ketter lost in the sun in the first inning that scored Tish Williams.
Jennifer Heerey kept the Hornets in the game after the first, keeping the Lady Blues off the scoreboard for the next five innings, waiting for her teammates to come through.
The Hornets had a chance in the first when Angela Mahan led off with a walk and moved to second on a sacrifice. Washburn did not give Campbell a chance to drive her in, walking the senior star to get to Self. It worked out the first time, as Self grounded out to end the inning.
Emporia State threatened again when Ketter led off the third inning with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice and tried to advance to third on Jessica Brewer’s infield single. Ketter was thrown out at third, a call that coach Kristi Bredbenner disputed to no avail. Brewer was left stranded at third when Abby Hughes followed with a lineout.
Campbell led off the fourth with a single and moved to second on Self’s sacrifice bunt, but again the Hornets could not come through with a clutch hit. They finally tied the game in the fifth when Ketter hit a one-out single, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored when Angela Mahan’s grounder got past Washburn shortstop Lindsey Moore, who was given an error.
With the momentum finally on their side, the Hornets got a leadoff single from Hughes in the sixth inning with the game tied. Usually in this situation, Bredbenner would have the next hitter bunt to move the runner into scoring position.
Instead with Campbell up, Bredbenner called a fake bunt and had Hughes attempt to steal second. The play worked, but not exactly how Campbell wanted it to play out.
“I was kind of upset because the girl missed it and threw it right down the pipe,” Campbell said.
“She wanted me to give her a hit and run,” Bredbenner said, “and I told her I’m not going to give you a hit and run when they’re not throwing you any strikes.”
As Campbell expected, the first pitch was the only hittable pitch she would get, putting the pressure on Self.
“She told me once, ‘It really makes me mad that they walk you to get to me,’” Campbell said. “I told her, ‘Use it. Use it as motivation to get a hit.’ She’s done a great job of that.”
Self also came through in Game One, when Campbell was walked twice, including once intentionally. Self followed the intentional walk with an RBI single and she finished 3 for 4 with a double and three RBIs.
Self had more help offensively in the opener. Senior Jenna Potter hit her first home run of the season. Angela Mahan also homered and went 2 for 4 with two RBIs. Hughes and Abby Smith both had two hits apiece. Campbell was 1 for 2 with a double and all but one ESU batter got a hit, as the Hornets racked up 14 hits in the run-rule win.
Paige Ladenburger (15-4) threw the complete-game shutout, holding the Lady Blues to three hits and striking out nine in six innings.
“She looked great,” Bredbenner said. “Really kept that team off balance and chasing some bad pitches. Not really getting a lot of solid hits, which is what you want to see this time of year.”
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