Baseball | 5/6/2014 4:42:00 PM
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Emporia State Hornets (36-16, 26-14 MIAA)
vs.
Central Oklahoma Bronchos (36-15, 26-24 MIAA)
Thursday, May 8 at 2:30 p.m. • Hammons Field • Springfield, Mo.
Radio: KVOE-AM 1400 Internet Audio: kvoe.com
Series Record: UCO leads 20-19 Last Meeting: at ESU 5, UCO 3 (Feb. 23, 2014)
Up Next: vs. Missouri Western or Northeastern State
Losers on Thursday, May 8 at 6:00 p.m.
Winners on Friday, May 9 at 11:00 a.m.
Hammons Field • Springfield, Mo.
Complete Release in pdf • Live Stats
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MIAA TOURNEY TIME
Emporia State takes on Central Oklahoma in the championship round of the MIAA Tournament in Springfield, Mo. It is the second straight year the two have met in MIAA postseason play.
LAST AT BAT
Jordan Hodges RBI double in the bottom of the eighth gave Emporia State a 3-2 win over Washburn in the deciding game of their MIAA Opening Round Series at Trusler. Brenton Higgins went 3.2 innings in relief for the win.
THE COACHES
Bob Fornelli is 440-192 in his 11th season at Emporia State and is 745-302 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 eight NCAA Tournaments. Fornelli has taken teams to the NCAA Tournament 13 times, and was the national runner-up in 2009 with Emporia State and in 2000 while at Ft. Hays State.
Dax Leone is 121-74 in his fourth season at Central Oklahoma.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 36-16 overall and 26-14 in the MIAA. They have won 17 of their last 19 games entering the tournament. They are batting .295, with a 4.26 ERA and a .958 team fielding percentage. Emporia State pitchers lead the MIAA and are ranked in sixth nationally in K/BB ratio. At the plate the Hornets are sixth in the nation in home runs while they lead the MIAA and are ranked 11th nationally in stolen bases. Dean Long leads the MIAA in RBI with 55, Toby Cornejo has a league best 19 doubles and Justin Harris is tops in the MIAA with 39 stolen bases.
SCOUTING THE BRONCHOS
Central Oklahoma is 36-15 and went 26-14 in the MIAA. They have a .353 team batting average, 3.78 team ERA and a .962 team fielding percentage. They lead teh MIAA in batting average, slugging percentage, on base percentage, runs, and home runs. Phillip Wilson leads the MIAA with a .453 average and 56 runs scored and is ranked fourth in the league with nine saves. Ricky Reeves has an MIAA best eight wins and 2.01 ERA.
THE SERIES
This will be the 40th meeting between the two teams with Central Oklahoma holding a 20-19 lead. This is the second straight year they have met in the MIAA postseason with the Bronchos taking two games in last year's MIAA Opening Round Series in Edmond.
LAST TIME VS. CENTRAL OKLA.
Emporia State split a four game series with Central Oklahoma, winning 5-3 in the final game. The Bronchos led 2-1 before Emporia State posted a four-run seventh inning. Toby Cornejo drove in the tying run with a bunt single, which was followed by the game winning hit from Justin Harris. Brenton Higgins won the game in his longest relief outing of the season, allowing one run on three hits with five strike outs in 4.0 innings.
ON DECK
Emporia State will play either Missouri Western or Northeastern State next. The losers will play at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday while the winners will play at 11:00 a.m. on Friday at Hammons Field.
