Softball struggles against top ranked Emporia, goes 0-2

By Matt Gleaves

The red hot, 7th ranked Emporia State Hornets swept the Griffon softball team in a double header Tuesday afternoon.

Western knew coming into the game that they were going to have to shut down one of the best offenses in the conference in two games and were simply not able to. Errors and missed opportunities plagued the Griffons in both games of the double header.

After two first inning errors, the Griffons found themselves in an early 2-0 hole and were able to bounce back to load the bases in the bottom half of the inning.

Western left the bases loaded and weren’t able to push a run across until the fourth inning, but the Hornets already had a commanding 6-1 lead.

The lone bright spot of the first game for Western was Toni Dance blasting her sixth homerun of the season in the bottom of the seventh inning. Allison Jones was the losing pitcher in game one as she falls to 8-6 on the season.

Game two was another verse of the same song for Western, as they committed six errors that the Hornets never hesitated to jump on and take a 3-0 lead. After scoring a run in the second and third inning, the Griffons were able to cut the lead to one, but the errors hurt them again when two more errors allowed Emporia to extend their lead to 7-2 and eventually win the game 13-2.

Jonnelle Belger took the loss in the game, falling to 10-8 after giving up 11 hits and six earned runs as she struck out one batter.

“We were definitely hoping for more from JB in the second game, but we also have to be able to make plays behind her,” head coach Jen Bagley said.

The Griffons were never in the second game because of all the errors committed. Several were committed on routine ground balls.

“I think we just need to believe that we can play with the best of them and stop making so many mental mistakes in the field,” catcher Keri Lorbert said.

Western struggled with getting runners in to score also as they left 12 runners on base in the first game but they can take away a positive from the game. Western managed 11 hits against the 7th ranked Hornets.

“We just need to get stronger defensively and we will be just fine,” pitcher Jonnelle Belger said.

Western will need to improve their defense if they hope to make the regional tournament. The latest rankings showed the Griffons ranked ninth and they will need to finish strong their last 10 games to have a chance to make the tournament.

The Griffons will be in action again this weekend against Northwest and Nebraska-Omaha.