Over the last stretch of Spring Break, the Lady Hornets travelled down to Wichita to face off against the Newman Lady Jets. To conclude the Spring Break action, the Lady Hornets swept the Lady Jets in a doubleheader that saw the Lady Hornets outscore them 21-2 in the two-game series.
The Lady Hornets sent out freshman Hannah Butterbaugh to the circle for the first game of the doubleheader. She has been lights out so far this season, but the Lady Jets got to her early with an RBI double to take a 1-0 lead in the first inning. That lead didn’t last long as sophomore Kinsey Perine drove in a run with a single up the middle. After that first inning, Butterbaugh settled in and ended up finishing out the game, giving up that one early run.
The Lady Hornet offense also got a ton of action after the second inning, and in the third, they took the lead for good on an RBI groundout from freshman Addison Callaway. The offense tacked on the third run in the fifth inning through a home run from junior Brooke Flewelling, her MIAA-leading 11th home run on the season. After another shutdown inning from Butterbaugh, the Lady Hornets fully repaid their starter’s effort with a big sixth inning, giving them more insurance.
Junior Ally Miller kicked off the festivities with an RBI single to make it 4-1. That was followed by a sacrifice fly from junior Elina Bartlett, and with another runner on base, Perine drove in the third run with a triple into the right field gap. The final run of the inning came from a Newman error to make it 7-1 in the sixth inning. Butterbaugh would close out the game with yet another shutout inning to give the Lady Hornets a game one win.
Butterbaugh, despite giving up the early run, went seven innings, allowing six hits, one run, one walk, and striking out one batter for her ninth win on the season. Perine starred on the offense as the nine hitter went 2-for-3 with two RBIs in the game to help spark the offense.
Game two ended up not lasting long as the Lady Hornets would run rule Newman in the nightcap. The Lady Hornets sent out junior Morgan Tomlinson to the circle to close out the series, and before she stepped into the circle, she would have a big lead to work with. The first six Lady Hornet batters got on base, and sophomore Brynley Smith kicked down the door with an RBI single. She was followed by Callaway, who drove in two on a double, and the final firework was a three-run home run by junior Avery Brewer to give them a 6-0 lead in the first inning.
Tomlinson got a clean first and second inning of work, and then the bats once again came alive in the top of the third. The Lady Hornets got the bases loaded before Flewelling opened the scoring with an RBI single. Smith walked right after to bring in another run, and Callaway continued to rake in the series, driving in two runs on a single. Bartlett capped off a six-run inning with a two-RBI double to make it 12-0 in the third inning.
The Lady Jets mustered home a run in the bottom of the third, and Tomlinson closed the inning to finish her day. She went three innings, allowing four hits, one run, two walks, and striking out one batter en route to her fifth win on the season. Sophomore Chloe Wilson came in to relieve her, and she would close the game out.
In the fifth inning, the Lady Hornet bats got back in action as senior Leslie Ramos doubled in one of two runs in the inning. The other run was driven in on another double from junior Juliana De Luna, which was the 14th run of the game for the Lady Hornets. Wilson shut down the Jets in the bottom of the fifth to end the game via the run rule.
With the series sweep, the Lady Hornets move to 19-8 on the season and 5-1 in MIAA play. Next up for the squad is a return to Trusler Sports Complex to face off against the number-11-ranked Pittsburg State Gorillas. The series will kick off on March 27 as the Lady Hornets look to continue a good stretch of play.