Baseball | 5/14/2014 2:49:00 AM
MAKING MAY MEMORIES
The #21 Hornets return to the NCAA Tournament for the tenth time in school history and the first time since 2011 as they take on #4 Minnesota State-Mankato in Russellville, Ark.
LAST AT BAT
After dropping a heartbreaking one run game in the opener, Emporia State battled all the way through the loser's bracket to capture the MIAA Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Hornets swept Missouri Western 3-2 and 6-0 on Saturday at Hammons Field in Springfield, Mo.
THE COACHES
Bob Fornelli is 443-192 in his 11th season at Emporia State and is 749-305 overall in his 18th year overall. He is the fifth winningest active coach in NCAA Division II and is 19th in total victories. He has led Emporia State to two Division II World Series appearances in nine NCAA Tournaments. Fornelli has taken teams to the NCAA Tournament 14 times, and was the national runner-up in 2009 with Emporia State and in 2000 while at Ft. Hays State.
Matt Magers is 297-84 in his sixth season at Minnesota State.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 40-17 overall, went 26-14 in the MIAA regular season, won the MIAA Tournament championship, are ranked #21 in the nation and seeded 4th in the Central Regional. They have won 21 of their last 24 games since starting the season 19-14. They are batting .296, with a 3.99 ERA and a .965 team fielding percentage. Emporia State pitchers lead the MIAA and are ranked in fifth nationally in K/BB ratio. At the plate the Hornets are fifth in the nation in home runs and stolen bases. Nine Hornets were named All-MIAA with Shawn Talkington, Brenton Higgins and Levi Parker earning first-team honors.
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
Minnesota State-Mankato is 41-9 overall, went 28-4 in the NSIC, are ranked #4 in the nation and are seeded #3 in the Central Regional. They have a .323 team batting average, 3.09 team ERA and a .978 team fielding percentage. Jason Hoppe was the NSIC Pitcher of the Year after going 10-2 with a 2.23 ERA. The Maverick pitching staff leads the nation in K/BB ratio.
THE SERIES
This will be the fourth meeting between Emporia State and Minnesota State, with the previous three all coming in NCAA Tournament play. The Hornets swept the Mavericks to win the regional title in Emporia during the 2006 season and eliminated them from the 2007 regional in Warrensburg, Mo.
LAST TIME VS. MINN. STATE
Conner Crumbliss hit a two out, two run walk off double in the bottom of the ninth to give Emporia State an 8-7 win over Minnesota State in an elimination game at the NCAA Central Regional in Warrensburg, Mo. Crumbliss went two for six with three RBI while catcher Nick Wolfe was four for five with three RBI. Kellen Mitts worked 2.0 scoreless innings to get the win.
HOW TOUGH?
Five of the six teams in the Central Regional are nationally ranked in the top 30. This is the only region in D-II in which four teams have at least 40 wins.
ON DECK
The winner will play at 7:00 p.m. on Friday against the winner of the game between Ark.-Monticello and Southern Arkansas. The loser will face elimination at 3:30 p.m. on Friday when they take on the winner of the game between Ark. Tech and Augustana.
HE'S A WINNER
Emporia State head baseball coach Bob Fornelli has 749 career wins and is 443-192 (.698) at Emporia State. Fornelli is the second winningest coach by percentage at Emporia State behind Dave Bingham (557-223, .714 in 14 years) and the third winningest coach at by victories (444) behind Bingham and Brian Embery (458-320, .589 in 15 years). This is the Hornets ninth trip to the NCAA Tournament in his 11 years and he has twice led Emporia State to the National Championship game, in 2006 and 2009. He has taken teams to the NCAA Tournament in 14 of his 18 years as a collegiate coach.
Fornelli, a 1991 graduate of Emporia State, spent seven years at Ft. Hays State where he compiled a 306-113 record and led the Tigers to the NCAA Division II national championship game in 2000 and was in the NCAA regional tournament six times.
Prior to his time in Hays, Fornelli was the pitching coach at Butler County Community College in El Dorado, Kan., from 1991 until 1996. During his tenure the Grizzlies were 195-86 and finished third in the NJCAA World Series in 1994.
Fornelli, a native of Lenexa, Kan., was an honorable mention All-Central States Intercollegiate Conference catcher for the Hornets as a senior after transferring from BCCC. He is married to the former Jill Harris of Madison, Kan. The couple has three daughters - Emma, Rylie and Addison.
POWER AND LIGHT DISTRICT
Emporia State is ranked fifth in the nation in both total home runs with 57 and total stolen bases with 133 and are the only team in the nation with at least 50 homers and 100 stolen bases. Dean Long has 14 home runs to rank seventh in the nation. He is tied for tenth on the Emporia State single season list. Justin Harris has 42 stolen bases in 50 attempts to rank sixth in the nation. He is seventh on the Hornets single season list.
MOUND PRESENCE
The Hornet pitching staff is fifth in the nation in strikeout to walk ratio with 395 K's and only 124 walks on the season. Jarrod Miller is 7-5 on the season with a 2.99 ERA and 75 strike outs in 78.1 innings pitched. Dakota McKaskle is 8-2 with a 3.95 ERA and 51 strike outs in 79.2 innings. Shawn Talkington is 7-2 with a save, a 3.05 ERA and 69 strike outs in 76.2 innings. Talkington may move to the closer role with an injury to Brenton Higgins. The Hornets closer was 7-2 with 12 saves and a 1.44 ERA before aggravating an elbow injury in the first MIAA Championship game. His status is doubtful for the regional.
WHERE WINNERS PLAY
This school year Emporia State has sent teams to the NCAA post season in football, women's basketball, women's tennis, softball and baseball. Both the men's and women's track teams had a competitor at the indoor national championships and they have combined to send 13 athletes to the outdoor national championships.
The Lady Hornets won the women's basketball tournament championship while the Hornets took the baseball tournament championship. Emporia State won at least one contest in six of the eight league tournaments they took part in, the most of any school in the league.
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