Lady Blues draw top-seeded HornetsLady Blues draw top-seeded Hornets

By Ken Corbitt

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

Washburn squeezed into the NCAA Division II softball tournament as the No. 8 seed in the North Central Regional.

After sweating out the selection, coach Lisa Carey says the Lady Blues have nothing to lose. But she doesn't expect her team to have a "just happy to be there" mentality when Washburn faces top-seeded Emporia State today at 5:30 p.m. on the Hornets' home field at Trusler Sports Complex.

"I believe there was a lot more pressure at the conference tournament because we weren't sure if we'd make the regional," Carey said. "We made it and we're there, so we just need to relax, have fun and play like we know we can."

The Lady Blues (29-26) are in the regional for the second time in three years. The Hornets (40-15) are making their fifth straight appearance.

Emporia State won the MIAA regular season and tournament titles, outlasting Central Missouri 4-0 in 14 innings in the championship game. The Hornets beat Washburn 11-2 in the second round.

The Lady Blues will have to find a way to produce some offense against ESU's Samantha Sheeley, the MIAA Pitcher of the Year. In the MIAA championship game, Sheeley (24-6, 1.37 ERA) took a no-hitter into the 14th inning and allowed one hit in the game with 19 strikeouts.

Washburn had six hits and two runs off Shelley in the six- inning, run-rule loss in the MIAA tourney.

"We have to come out aggressive," Carey said. "We hit her pretty good and we scored a couple of runs. She's a great pitcher and a great competitor, so we need to make a couple of adjustments and get the job done."

Emporia State leads the MIAA in hitting at .313 and Washburn is No. 4 with a .287 average.

Washburn's Kayla Long pitched the tourney game against ESU but senior Kelly Swygert (18-10, 2.55) will get the start today.

"Emporia is going to put the ball in play," Carey said. "We have to keep our defense strong and make the plays."

The regional champion advances to the NCAA Division II World Series May 14-17 in Houston, Texas.

Ken Corbitt can be reached

at (785) 295-1123

or ken.corbitt@cjonline.com.

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