Emporia State Hornets (36-13, 23-12 MIAA)
vs. Central Missouri Mules (30-20, 23-13 MIAA)
May 7, 2015 • 2:30 p.m. • CommunityAmerica Ballpark • Kansas City, Kan.
Series Record: UCM leads 119-58Â Last Meeting: ESU 6, at UCM 3 (March 24, 2015)Â Â
Radio: KFFX 104.9FM Internet Audio:
kvoe.comLive StatsÂ
Complete Notes in pdfUp Next: Winner vs. winner of Missouri Southern/Washburn • May 8, 2015 • 11:00 a.m.
Loser vs. loser of Missouri Southern/Washburn • May 7, 2015 • 6:00 p.m.
CommunityAmerica Ballpark • Kansas City, Kan.
POST SEASON TIME
Defending champion Emporia State starts play in the MIAA Tournament against Central Missouri at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. The last three MIAA Tournament champions are represented in the field this year, Central Missouri won the 2012 tournament, Missouri Southern won in 2013 and the Hornets captured last year's title. However Emporia State is the only team in this year's field making a return trip to the tournament.
LAST AT BAT
Emporia State found a way to win for the eighth time in their last nine elimination games with a 9-6 victory over Lindenwood in the third game of their MIAA Opening Round Series. Dalton Wheat was two for five with two runs and two RBI while Jordan Hodges went one for four with three RBI and a run scored. Jarrod Miller picked up the win allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits while striking out two in 5.0 innings. Shawn Talkington worked the final 4.0 innings for the save, surrendering four runs on six hits with five strikeouts.
THE COACHES
Bob Fornelli is 481-207 in his 12th season at Emporia State and is 787-320 overall in his 19th year as a four year head coach. He is the fourth winningest active coach in NCAA Division II and is 15th 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. He is 25-21 in all MIAA Tournament games.
Kyle Crookes is 30-20 in his first season at Central Missouri.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 36-13 on the season, 23-12 in the MIAA and the second seed in the tournament. They are fourth in NCAA Central Region Rankings. In the latest NCAA statistics the Hornets are ranked third in the nation in slugging percentage, fourth in home runs, eighth in total doubles, and tenth in stolen bases.
SCOUTING THE MULES
Central Missouri is 30-20 overall, 23-13 in the MIAA and the third seed in the tournament. They swept Neb.-Kearney in the Opening Round Series to advance to Kansas City. They are second in the MIAA with a 4.29 team ERA and all four regular starters have an ERA of 4.05 or lower. They are batting .296 as a team and have a total of 20 home runs.
THE SERIES
Central Missouri leads the all-time series 119-58 although Emporia State has won the last three meetings. The Hornets and Mules have combined to win 14 of the 16 MIAA Regular Season Championships and 12 of 15 MIAA Tournament titles in the 21st century.
LAST AT BAT VS. CENTRAL MO.
Emporia State scored three runs in the top of the ninth to defeat Central Missouri 6-3 in Warrensburg, Mo. Levi Parker scored from third on a throwing error and Evan Koehler delivered a two RBI double to put the Hornets up by three. Shawn Talkington came on to pitch the ninth and struck out the side for his second straight save.
ON DECK
The winner will take on either Missouri Southern or Washburn on Friday at 11 a.m. while the losers will play at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday in the first elimination game.
HE'S A WINNER
Emporia State head baseball coach Bob Fornelli has 787 career wins and is 481-207 (.699) in his 12th season at Emporia State. Fornelli is the second winningest coach at Emporia State behind Dave Bingham who was 557-223 (.714) in 14 years from 1974-87. Last year was the Hornets ninth trip to the NCAA Tournament in 11 years and he has twice led Emporia State to the Division II World Series, 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.
A native of Lenexa, Kan., he was an honorable mention All-Central States Intercollegiate Conference catcher for the Hornets as a senior after transferring from Butler County CC. He is married to the former Jill Harris of Madison, Kan. The couple has three daughters - Emma, Rylie and Addison.
REGIONALLY SPEAKING
Emporia State is ranked fourth in the latest NCAA Central Region and are one of two MIAA teams in the rankings. The automatic qualifiers from the MIAA, NSIC and GAC along with the next three highest ranked regional teams will make the NCAA Tournament. The Hornets have an 11-0 non-conference record against Division II teams and are one of only three D2 teams in the nation that have at least seven wins and no losses in non-conference games. As a conference the MIAA was 74-65 against non-league opponents this year.
POWER AND LIGHT DISTRICT
Emporia State is ranked in the top 15 nationally in seven offensive categories. The Hornets are ranked third in the nation in slugging percentage, fourth in home runs, eighth in doubles, tenth in stolen bases, 12th in runs, 14th in scoring and 15th in batting average. Emporia State is the only team in the nation to be ranked in the top ten in doubles, home runs and stolen bases.
IF I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS
Justin Harris is ranked third in the nation in doubles, fourth in hits, eighth in runs, tenth in batting average, 13th in stolen bases and 15th in total bases and leads the MIAA in all of those categories. He is batting .446 with four home runs, 37 RBI, 25 doubles, five triples, 65 runs and 26 stolen bases. His 25 doubles rank fourth, his .446 batting average is fifth, and his 90 hits are ninth on the Emporia State single season list while his 44 stolen bases last year ranks fourth. He is ranked eighth on the career list for the Hornets with 36 doubles, 167 career hits and nine triples and is currently sixth with a carrer .383 batting average. He had a 29 game hitting streak, the longest by a Hornet since Dillon Hazlett had a 32 game streak in 2011, snapped in the third game against Pittsburg State. He is one of the top ten seniors in Division II according to Baseball the Magazine and one of 25 semifinalists for the Tino Martinez Award as the top player in NCAA Division II.
HIT IT LONG
Dean Long is ranked third in the nation in RBI, seventh in home runs, eighth in getting hit by pitch, ninth in slugging percentage, tenth in total bases, 23rd in runs scored and 29th in doubles. He is batting .380 with 21 home runs, 76 RBI, 19 doubles, 58 runs and 12 stolen bases. His 21 home runs rank third on the Emporia State single season list. His 35 home runs over the last two years is second on the Hornets career list and his 140 RBI rank tenth. He is ranked fifth among active NCAA Division II players with 35 home runs and a .714 career slugging percentage. He is eighth in career home runs among all active NCAA players regardless of division. He had reached base safely (by hit, walk or HBP) in 40 straight games and had been on base (including reaching by error or fielder's choice) in every game this year and in 61 straight games dating back to last year before failing to reach base at all in five plate appearances against Lindenwood. He is one of 25 semifinalists for the Tino Martinez Award as the top player in NCAA Division II.
AROUND THE HORN
First baseman Evan Koehler is ranked third in the MIAA and 37th in the nation in RBI. He is batting .368 with 12 home runs, 56 RBI and 13 doubles on the year.
Second baseman Levi Parker is ranked 24th in the nation in sac bunts this season. He is batting .299 with 50 runs scored, four home runs, ten stolen bases and ten sacrifices.
Shortstop Cody Bobbitt is batting .314 with five homers, 32 RBI and 11 stolen bases.
OUT IN THE FIELD
Dalton Wheat is batting .337 with 31 runs and 12 stolen bases in 28 games. He has 22 starts in right field this season. Â
Price Jacobs is batting .333 with seven home runs, 12 doubles and 37 RBI. He has 33 starts in left field this year and 11 starts at designated hitter.
Wade Hanna is batting .302 with seven homers, 11 doubles and 35 RBI on the year. He has 27 starts in right and 15 in left field with five outfield assists on the season.
BATTERY MATE
Jordan Hodges has been forced into the everyday catcher role due to injuries to Tory Bell, Tyler Beebe and Garrett McKinzie. He also has seven starts at second base and two at shortstop. Hodges is batting .270 with a .413 on base percentage on the season and the Hornets are 9-1 with him behind the dish.
AT THE PLATE
Jonny Hodges has 13 starts at designated hitter for the Hornets. He is batting .359 on the season with two home runs and 16 RBI.
Aaron Gile has 13 starts at DH as well and is batting .279 with three homers, 13 RBI and five doubles.
FOR STARTERS
Seven different players have started a game for the Hornets this year. Travis Hendry has 14 appearances with 11 starts and is 9-1 on the season with a 4.07 ERA. His nine wins rank tenth in the nation this year. He has 46 strikeouts and just 19 walks. He has pitched into the fifth inning in ten of his 11 starts and has given up four runs or less in 12 of his 14 appearances. Â
Garrett Bane is 5-3 on the season with a 4.62 ERA in 17 appearances and seven starts. He has two complete games and the only complete game shutout for the Hornets this year.
Jarrod Miller is 4-1 with a 4.78 ERA in 13 appearances this year and five starts. He has 23 strike outs in 26.1 innings with just seven walks. He led the MIAA in strike outs with 77 last season.
Garrett Brummett is 3-3 with a 6.71 ERA and leads Emporia State with 55 K's and only 13 walks in 51.0 innings. He was used exclusively as a starter over his first 11 games but has made relief appearances in three of his last four games. He has allowed just one run on three hits with four strikeouts and no walks in 3.0 innings out of the bullpen.
THE MIXTURE
Jagger Harjo is 3-0 with an 8.68 ERA in 14 appearances with five starts. Four of his five starts came in midweek games against the other three teams in Kansas City for the MIAA Tournament. He was 2-0 with a 6.35 ERA as the Hornets won all four of those games.
Jake Eikleberry is 2-0 on the season with a 5.26 ERA in 14 appearances and five starts. He picked up wins in starts against Southwest Baptist and Newman.
OUT OF THE PEN
Shane Davies is 1-0 with a team best 2.74 ERA in 13 relief appearances. He has 21 strikeouts and just eight walks in 23.0 innings.
Grant Bachura 1-0 with a 3.45 ERA in 15.2 innings pitched during 12 bullpen outings.
Jacob Tetuan is 2-1 with a 7.79 ERA in 13 appearances out of the bullpen. Â
Matt Hinkley is 1-0 in 13 relief appearances. He picked up a win against Northeastern State.
THE IRON THRONE
Shawn Talkington is 5-4 on the season with a 4.64 ERA and 53 strikeouts on the season. He leads the MIAA and is ranked tenth in the nation in saves. He is 3-2 with a 3.38 ERA and ten saves in 18 appearances out of the bullpen. He has 37 strikeouts and just three walks in 32.0 relief innings. His ten saves this year rank fifth on the Emporia State single season chart. He has 204 career strikeouts and to rank seventh on the Emporia State career list. He ranks third for the Hornets in career appearances with 65, is eighth in career saves with 12 and is ninth with 21 wins and 2301. innings pitched.
COMEBACK KIDS
The Hornets have 22 come from behind wins this season including 11 games when trailing in the fourth inning or later. In the last two years Emporia State has played in nine post season elimination games with eight wins. The Hornets were being no hit and trailing 2-0 going into the bottom of the fifth inning of last year's first MIAA Championship game before rallying for a 3-2 victory to prolong their season.
IN THE POLLS
There are several national rankings in NCAA Division II for baseball. Emporia State is receiving votes in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper top 30 and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 25 polls. The Hornets are ranked #17 in the Perfect Game rankings but are completely unranked in the d2baseballnews.com rankings
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