April 24, 2015-Emporia State tied their season high with six home runs in a 12-9 win over Pittsburg State to open up the final regular season series of the season.
Dalton Wheat reached on an error at shortstop with one out in the bottom of the first and came home when Evan Koehler hit the first of his two home runs for a 2-0 Hornet lead. That lead held up until the Gorillas scored four in the fourth with a pair of home runs of their own. Emporia State retook the lead with a four run fifth inning highlighted by a towering three run homer from Dean Long that reached the road beyond the hill outside the left field fence.
Pittsburg State tied the score with a two run home run by Andrew Kreiling in the top of the sixth. Wade Hanna quickly gave the lead back to the Hornets when he took the second pitch of the bottom of the sixth out of the park.
Levi Parker led off the bottom of the seventh with a home run to left. Justin Harris then extended his hitting streak to 28 games with an infield single that the short stop got a bad jump on. Wheat followed with a two run homer for a 10-6 lead. Long was up next and he laced a single through the left side and Koehler finished the Hornets scoring the way he started it with a two run home run.
Pittsburg State got a three run home run from Andrew Vogelbaugh, the tenth of the game between the two teams, to pull the Gorillas within in 12-9. After another single Shawn Talkington came in out of the bullpen with one out. He got at fly out before Long made a diving stop and throw across the diamond for the final out of the inning.  Talkington then worked a perfect ninth for his eighth save of the year.
Koehler was two for four with two home runs, four RBI and two runs scored while Wheat was two for four with a home run, three RBI and three runs scored. Long was also two for four with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored.
The Hornets and Gorillas will match up again on Saturday in a double header set to begin at 1:00 p.m. on Glennen Field in the Trusler Sports Complex.
