Baseball | 5/2/2013 4:20:00 PM
TOURNEY TIME
Emporia State begins play in their 11th straight MIAA tournament, the second longest active streak in the conference, when they travel to Central Oklahoma. This is the Hornets 16th MIAA Tournament appearance since joining the league in 1992.
HOW WE GOT HERE
With 50 conference games canceled due to weather this spring the MIAA seedings came down to a numbers game with Emporia State, Central Oklahoma and Missouri Southern all seven games over .500 and eight games behind leader Missouri Western. The Hornets were a combined 6-2 against the Lions and Bronchos but were percentage points behind them due to a difference in the number of games played.
THE COACH
Bob Fornelli is 404-173 in his tenth season at Emporia State and is 710-286 overall in his 17th year overall. He is the fourth winningest active coach in Division II and is 19th in total victories. He has led Emporia State to two Division II World Series appearances in eight NCAA Tournaments. Fornelli has taken teams to the NCAA Tournament 11 times, and was the national runner-up in 2009 with Emporia State and in 2000 while at Ft. Hays State.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State has lost four games in a row for the first time since losing five in a row in early February. Eric Dawson has been a bright spot of late, raising his average 51 points over the last 15 games to .359 on the season. Dakota McKaskle is 6-4 on the season with a 3.06 ERA while Kevin Shaffer is 3-2 with a 2.28 ERA on the season. Shawn Talkington is 4-5 with a 4.91 ERA.
SCOUTING THE BRONCHOS
Central Missouri is 28-17 overall and 23-16 in the MIAA. The Bronchos are ranked ninth in the league with a .295 team average and their 5.52 ERA ranks seventh in the conference. Matt Johnson is batting .312 with nine home runs and 43 RBI. Edgar Lopez is 7-3 with a 3.96 ERA and has a team high five complete games.
THE SERIES
The first game of the series will be the 34th meeting between the two teams with Emporia State holding a 17-16 lead. They have split six games over the last two years.
LAST TIME VS. CENTRAL OKLA.
Emporia State got two outstanding performances from their starting pitchers in a double header sweep of Central Oklahoma on Wednesday at the Trusler Sports Complex. The Hornets won game one 3-1 and took the night cap 6-0 behind Kevin Shaffer’s two hitter. Shawn Talkington went 5.2 innings to get the win in game one, allowing one run on two hits with five strike outs and just two walks. Keith Picht pitched the final 1.1 retiring all four batters he faced for the save. Shaffer had 13 strikeouts without a walk in the nighcap.
ON DECK
The Hornets are scheduled to play an exhibition game with the Wichita Wingnuts on Monday, May 7 at 6:00 p.m. in Wichita’s Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. The winner of the Opening Round Series will advance to the MIAA Championship Tournament against the winner of the series between Missouri Western and Ft. Hays State. First pitch at Kansas City’s Community America Ballpark would be at 11 a.m. on May 9.
