Baseball | 3/14/2012 1:22:00 PM
GORILLAS
The Hornets will face Pittsburg State in a four game MIAA series on March 16-18. The Hornets play 18 of their next 20 games in the friends confines of Glennen Field in the Trusler Sports Complex.
LAST AT BAT
It started as a pitchers duel as no one scored through the first four innings. The Bearcats broke the tie though in the fifth inning picking up three runs. The Hornets would respond capitalizing on two NWMSU errors in the bottom half of the inning to cut the lead to 3-2. Northwest would answer with two runs in the top of the sixth while ESU grabbed two more in the bottom half of the inning to stay within one run. The Bearcats would put the game away for good though adding three runs in the top of the seventh inning on the way to a 10-6 win.
THE COACHES
Bob Fornelli is 359-135 in his ninth season at ESU and is 664-247 in his 16th year overall. He has led ESU to eight straight NCAA South Central Regionals. He led ESU to MIAA Championships in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2011. A 1991 graduate of ESU, Fornelli has taken teams to the NCAA Tournament 12 times, and was the national runner-up in 2009 with ESU and in 2000 while at FHSU.
Steve Bever is 553-507 in his 21st season with the Gorillas.
THE SERIES
This will be 94th meeting between the two teams with ESU holding a 64-29 overall advantage. The Hornets have won 21 straight games and haven’t lost to the Gorillas since the 2006 season.
LAST TIME VS. PSU
The Hornets had 12 hits and took advantage of three Gorilla errors in a 13-6 victory on on March 6, 2011. Andy Cotton led the way at the plate going two for five with a triple and three runs driven in. Drew Smith earned the win on the mound going five innings and striking out seven to pick up his first win of the season.
SCOUTING THE GORILLAS
Pittsburg State is 8-7 and 6-2 in the MIAA this season. They are led at the plate by Adam Reed who is hitting .441 with 11 runs driven in this season. Adam Stalcup is leading the MIAA with 35 strikeouts and has a 3-1 record with a 2.38 earned run average.
ON DECK
The Hornets will face Truman State in their third straight MIAA home series on March 23-25 from Glennen Field in the Trsuler Sports Complex. ESU will then travel to Missouri Western on March 27 before playing their next ten games at home.
