EMPORIA, Kan. -- Northeastern State's postseason run came to an end Thursday evening as Central Oklahoma used a four-run fifth inning to pull away for a 7-4 win in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Softball Tournament.
The RiverHawks (29-23) jumped out early with two runs in the opening inning.
Emily Carpenter doubled to start the game before
Mia Sarwinski added a bunt single.
Annsleigh Morris brought home the first run on a groundout, and
Madison Nance followed with an RBI double for a 2-0 lead.
Central Oklahoma answered with a solo home run in the first and tied the game in the third after a pair of NSU throwing errors allowed a run to score.
The Bronchos took control in the fifth inning when Kennedy Clark launched a grand slam to left-center, turning a tie game into a 6-2 advantage.
Northeastern State responded in the sixth as
Ashlynn Turner drove in a run and
Jersey Retzloff added an RBI single to trim the deficit to 6-4.
Carpenter, Sarwinski and
Mattison Hamilton each collected two hits as the RiverHawks finished with 10 hits overall.
The season marked a turnaround for NSU, whose 29 wins against NCAA competition were its most since 2018 and surpassed the combined total from the previous two seasons. The RiverHawks also set a program record with 86 stolen bases during the year.
