EMPORIA STATE BASEBALL FACES SBU FOR FINAL HOME STAND

Emporia State Hornets (33-14, 25-11 MIAA) vs
Southwest Baptist Bearcats (21-25, 16-20 MIAA)
May 5 • 5:00 p.m. • Glennen Field/Trusler Sports Complex • Emporia, Kan.
May 6 • 7:00 p.m. • Glennen Field/Trusler Sports Complex • Emporia, Kan.
May 7 • 5:00 p.m. • Glennen Field/Trusler Sports Complex • Emporia, Kan.
Series Record: ESU leads 53-12
Last Meeting: at ESU 14, SBU 4 (March 29, 2015)   
Up Next: MIAA Tournament • May 12-15, 2016 • Lou Brock Sports Complex • St. Charles, Mo.
 
BACK FOR MORE BEARCATS
Emporia State will play their final regular season games at home on May 5-7 against Southwest Baptist. First pitch will be at 5:00 p.m. at Glennen Field in Trusler.
 
LAST AT BAT
Emporia State swept Northwest Missouri in a three game series, winning game one 4-2, game two 7-1 and game three 7-2.
Dalton Wheat was six for 14 with four runs and three RBI. Evan Koehler was five for 12 and Wade Hanna was four for 12, each with two runs and two RBI. Jonny Hodges hit three for eight with three runs and four RBI.
Jake Eikleberry won game one, pitching 5.1 innings allowing two runs. Shane Davies got the save, giving up only two hits in 2.0 innings. Jordan Plank improved to 7-2, pitching 6.0 innings with seven strike outs and a run while Tyler Stubblefield picked up the save in game two. Matt Slauter won game three pitching 7.0 innings and allowing only two runs.
 
THE COACHES
Bob Fornelli is 517-224 in his 13th season at Emporia State and is 823-337 overall in his 20th 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 15 times, and was the national runner-up in 2009 with Emporia State and in 2000 while at Ft. Hays State. He is 32-7 against the Bearcats.
Chris Martin is 112-133-1 in his fifth season as head coach of Southwest Baptist. He is 4-6 against the Hornets.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 33-14, 25-11 in the MIAA and ranked 10th in the region. The Hornets are ranked third nationally in fielding percentage, sixth in doubles, eighth in runs scored, ninth in slugging percentage, tenth in hits, 11th in scoring, 13th in home runs and 20th in batting average. Evan Koehler is third in the nation with 20 home runs, ninth in RBI and 18th in slugging percentage. Dalton Wheat is batting .453 in MIAA games.
Emporia State leads the MIAA with 380 strike outs and is second with a 4.25 ERA. Tyler Stubblefield is 14th in the nation with eight wins, is third in the MIAA with a 2.52 ERA and fourth with 79 strike outs. Matt Slauter is 12th in the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio and 13th in walks allowed per nine innings.
 
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Southwest Baptist is 21-25, 16-20 in the MIAA. The Bearcats are third in the MIAA with a .406 on base percentage. Caleb Sneed and Christian Binger are both in the MIAA top ten in batting average, on base percentage and hits.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series 53-12 over Southwest Baptist.
 
LAST TIME VS SOUTHWEST BAPTIST
Emporia State took the series 3-1 last season against Southwest Baptist, finishing with a 14-4 win. Evan Koehler had two home runs with four RBI while Jake Eikleberry pitched 6.0 innings with five strike outs for the win.
 
ON DECK
Emporia State will play in the MIAA Tournament in St. Charles, Mo. at the Lou Brock Sports Complex. Games will be May 12-15.

HE'S A WINNER
Emporia State head baseball coach Bob Fornelli has 823 career wins and is 517-224 (.698) in his 13th 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. The Hornets have made ten trips to the NCAA Tournament in his first 12 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 15 of his 19 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 five times.
He is the fourth winningest active coach in NCAA Division II and ranks 15th in career victories with a 823-337 (.710) record in his 20th season.
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.
 
PUTTING UP RUNS
The Hornets lead the MIAA in five offensive categories with 418 runs scored, 378 RBI, 554 hits, 112 doubles, and a .974 fielding percentage and they are second in the league with a .331 batting average, 65 home runs, a .536 slugging percentage and 76 stolen bases. Emporia State is third in the nation in fileidng percentage, sixth in doubles, eighth in runs scored, ninth in slugging percentage, tenth in hits, 11th in scoring, 13th in home runs and 20th in batting average. They have scored at least ten runs in 17 games and at least 15 runs in nine games with four games in which they have scored at least 20 runs.
Evan Koehler is leading the MIAA and third in the nation with 20 home runs. He is second in the league and ninth in the nation with 62 RBI and ranks third in the MIAA, 18th in the nation, with a .775 slugging percentage. Dalton Wheat is fourth in the league with 16 doubles, fifth with both a .398 batting average and 70 hits, seventh with 17 stolen bases and eighth with 50 RBI and four triples. Wade Hanna is sixth in the MIAA with five triples. Derek Francis is tenth in the MIAA with a .651 slugging percentage.
 
SWING AND MISS STUFF
The Hornets are leading the MIAA with 380 strike outs and are second with a 4.25 ERA. Emporia State is 20th in the nation in strike outs per innings pitched.
Tyler Stubblefield leads the MIAA and is ranked 14th in the nation with eight wins. He is third in the MIAA with a 2.52 ERA, is fourth with 79 strike outs and fifth with 78.2 innings pitched and a .223 opponent batting average. Matt Slauter 12th in the nation with 7.17 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 13th with 1.05 walks allowed per nine innings. Jordan Plank is seventh in the MIAA with a 3.64 ERA and eighth with 66 strike outs. Garrett Brummett is fifth in the MIAA in saves.
 
HORNETS IN THE POSTSEASON
Last season Emporia State made their 11th trip to the NCAA Tournament and tenth in 12 years. The Hornets have advanced to the NCAA Division II World Series twice, in 2006 and 2009. In 2009 they made it to the national championship game before falling 2-1 to Lynn. They have been to three regional championship games including a 6-3 loss to Minnesota State in 2014. Emporia State made five trips to the NAIA World Series before joining the NCAA in 1992. They were the NAIA National Champions in 1978, runners up in 1987 and finished third in 1976. The Hornets are tenth in the first regional rankings this season.
 
TRENDS
Emporia State is outscoring opponents 80-22 in the fourth inning.
The Hornets are 20-0 when scoring in the first inning.
Emporia State is 29-3 when leading after the sixth inning.
The Hornets are 27-1 when scoring at least six runs in a game.
Emporia State is 26-2 when scoring first.
Emporia State has been outscored in a series just once in 14 three game series this year.
 
RECORD BOOKS
Evan Koehler is ranked fifth among active players in NCAA Division II, eighth among all active NCAA Divisions with 34 career home runs and is tenth in D2 with a .709 slugging percentage. He is ranked third in career home runs at Emporia State and his 20 homers this year rank fourth on the single season list.