Day One of Softball Championship in the Books

Game 1: (1) Emporia State 8, (8) Washburn 0
Emporia State cruised to an 8-0 run rule win over Washburn in the opening game of the tournament.

ESU got on the board in the second inning as Katie Huffman walked and was doubled in by Angela Mahan. ESU would then add a two-spot in the fourth inning as Kaitlin Martin and Huffman scored on a single by Linda Ketter. ESU got one in the fifth before putting up four runs getting two via wild pitches to take the run rule win.

Mahan finished the night three for four at the plate while Ketter went two for three. Paige Ladenburger went all six innings striking out seven to earn her 17th victory of the season.

Game 2: (5) Fort Hays State 6, (4) Central Missouri 0
The Tigers rode the strong arm of Kayla Rupa and the hot bat of Maddie Holub to an opening round victory. After Sara Tani scored on a wild pitch in the first inning, Holub hit a two-run double in the second and a two-run home run in the fourth. That would be more than enough run support for Rupa, who only allowed five hits while striking out five in the complete game effort.

Game 3: (3) Missouri Western 6, (6) Northwest Missouri 2
TyAnn Williamson hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning to give Missouri Western a 3-2 lead, a lead the Griffons would not relinquish. Shannon Pivovar went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, and Keri Lorbert was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored to lead Western to the victory.

Game 4: (2) Nebraska-Omaha 1, (7) Truman 0
A sacrifice fly from Lindsey Slocum was all Nebraska-Omaha needed in the first round game. Her drive in the third inning scored Molly Feichtinger.

MIAA pitcher of the year Beth Haley got the shutout, allowing four hits and a walk with five strikeouts. She improved to 21-2.

Game 5: (4) Central Missouri 4, (8) Washburn 1
Heading into the seventh inning and down by a run, Central Missouri rallied to continue its season. With a runner on second and one out, sophomore Courtney Opich sent a pitch sailing over the center field fence to give UCM the big hit it needed and a lead. The next four batters all reached base, two of them scoring before a long fly ball to right field ended the rally.

Game 6: (6) Northwest Missouri 6, (7) Truman 4
Nikki Povero led off game two with her second home run of the season. Rachel Schmitz hit a two-run shot in the fourth that put Northwest up 5-0.

Northwest led the Bulldogs 6-0 heading into the sixth inning, but Truman scored twice in the bottom of the sixth and cut the lead to 6-3 with one out and two on in the seventh.

Nicole Ackelson relieved Creger and left fielder Kit Daugherty made a diving catch on a foul ball for the second out of the inning. Katie Pitts singled to make it 6-4, but Ackelson got Alex Weber to pop up to the catcher to end the game. It was the second save of the season for Ackelson.

Game 7: (1) Emporia State 3, (5) Fort Hays State 2
ESU struck first, taking advantage of a Tiger error in the first inning and putting up two runs following a passed ball. The Hornets did not get a hit until the fifth inning, when ESU took advantage of singles by Jenna Potter and Jessica Brewer to take a 3-0 lead.

ESU would only get one more hit on the night, but would hold on to win 3-2. Jennifer Heerey won her 21st straight decision giving up just two hits and no earned runs. Karley Schmelzer came on to pitch the final two frames to earn her first career save. After a leadoff single, she retired the final six batter she faced with four strikeouts.

Game 8: (2) Nebraska-Omaha 6, (3) Missouri Western 1
Lindsey Slocum and Katelyn Hinton each drove in two runs in the fourth inning to help Nebraska-Omaha top Missouri Western, 6-1, Thursday and advance to the semifinal of the MIAA postseason tournament at Blue Valley Sports Complex.

The Mavs got two hits and took advantage of two errors in the fourth. Slocum hit a two-run home run to drive in Lindsey Redding and Kristi Meneely. Redding pinch ran for Julia Krejci, who led off the inning by reaching on an error. Emma Wright later reached on an error, Alli Hukill walked and then Hinton hit a triple down the right field line to drive them in.

Day two of the 2010 MIAA Softball Championship begins Friday at 11 a.m. with two elimination games. No. 4 seed Central Missouri will take on No. 3 seed Missouri Western, while No. 6 seed Northwest Missouri faces No. 5 seed Fort Hays State. The final two unbeatens, No. 1 seed Emporia State and No. 2 seed Nebraska-Omaha, will match up at 3 p.m. Friday.