Emporia State Hornets (27-19, 12-6 MIAA) atÂ
Southwest Baptist Bearcats (26-14, 10-8 MIAA)Â
Friday, April 14 • 1:00 p.m. (DH) • SBU Softball Field • Bolivar, Mo.
Series: ESU leads 43-11 Last Meeting: SBU 12, at ESU 4 (5 innings) (4/1/2016)Â
Central Missouri Jennies (20-23, 10-8 MIAA)Â
Saturday, April 15 • 12:00 p.m. (DH) • South Recreation Complex • Warrensburg, Mo.
Series: ESU leads 59-41 Last Meeting: at ESU 8, UCM 5 (4/2/2016)Â
Live Stats • Complete Game Notes
Up Next: at Northwest Missouri (DH) • Friday, April 21 • 3:00 p.m. • Maryville, Mo.
CRUNCH TIMEÂ
Emporia State hits the road against Southwest Baptist and Central Missouri for a pair of double headers. The Hornets face the Bearcats on Friday, April 14 at 1:00 p.m. and the Jennies on Saturday, April 15 at 12:00 p.m.
LAST AT BATÂ
The Hornets swept a mid-week conference double header (7-5, 6-1) against the Ichabods to win the season Turnpike Tussle three games to one. In the double header, Hailey Cope hit four for nine with six RBI. Sarah Glass hit three for eight against the Ichabods with three runs and three RBI. Eryn Stockman improved to 18-8 after pitching 11.0 innings in game one. Stockman had five runs, four earned, on 11 hits with two strikeouts and two walks. Holly Hinkel pitched the first four innings of game two, allowing just one run on four hits with a strikeout. Danielle Sprinkle relieved for the win, pitching 3.0 innings. Sprinkle had just one walk and one hit in her pitching debut.
THE COACHESÂ
April Huddleston is 48-51 in her second year as the head coach at Emporia State. She is the tenth head coach of the Hornet softball program. She is head coach after having served as an assistant with the Hornets for seven seasons. Huddleston was a member of both the Hornets national runner-up teams in 2006 and 2008, and was named First Team All-MIAA at shortstop her senior year. She is 1-1 against Southwest Baptist and 2-0 against Central Missouri.Â
Jim Flora is 90-107 in his fourth season as head coach at Southwest Baptist. Flora is 3-3 against the Hornets
Susan Anderson is 332-252 in her 11th season as the head coach at Central Missouri. Anderson is 4-24 against the Hornets.
ABOUT THE HORNETSÂ
Emporia State is 27-19 on the season and 12-6 in MIAA play. The Hornets lead the MIAA in stolen bases and are second in doubles. McKenna Davis is third in the MIAA in stolen bases while Caitlin VanVleck is fifth. Glass is fifth in the league in doubles. Stockman is ranked second in the MIAA and fourth in the nation with eight shut outs. She is second in the MIAA in wins, fourth in ERA and opponent batting average and eighth in strikeouts.
ABOUT SOUTHWEST BAPTISTÂ
The Bearcats are 26-14 on the season and 10-8 in the MIAA. Southwest Baptist leads the MIAA with a .979 fielding percentage and is third with a 2.22 ERA. Jaidyn Mawhinney is fourth in the league with a .407 batting average. Claire Miller is third in the MIAA in ERA, opponent batting average and strikeouts.
The Hornets lead the all-time series 43-11 over the Bearcats.
Emporia State fell 12-4 in five innings last season to Southwest Baptist. Cassidy Berry hit three for three.
ABOUT CENTRAL MISSOURIÂ
The Jennies are 20-23 on the season and 10-8 in the MIAA. The Jennies are second in the MIAA in stolen bases. Makayla Schoonover is second in the league with 21 stolen bases. Alexa Bradley leads the conference with five saves.
The Hornets lead the all-time series 59-41 over the Jennies.
Emporia State defeated the Jennies 8-5 last season. VanVleck hit two for three while Hinkel improved to 5-7, allowing five runs on six hits with two strikeouts in 7.0 innings.
UP NEXTÂ
Emporia State finishes the regular season with a pair of double headers at Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western.
HORNET HITTINGÂ
The Hornets lead the MIAA with 79 stolen bases and sit second with 73 doubles. As a team the Hornets are batting .291 on the season with a .359 on base percentage and .410 slugging percentage.
Shortstop Sarah Glass (Sr./Wichita, Kan.) is fifth in the MIAA with 13 doubles. She is ranked seventh in the MIAA with 34 runs and 12th in the league with ten stolen bases. Glass is hitting .353 with four home runs, three triples and 28 RBI.
Outfielder Caitlin VanVleck (Jr./Liberty, Mo.) sits fifth in the MIAA with 15 stolen bases. She is batting .370 on the season with five doubles, a triple and a home run.
Catcher Jacie Stephens (Sr./Goldsby, Okla.) is tied for seventh in the MIAA with 11 doubles. She has a .346 batting average and a .504 slugging percentage. Stephens has 44 hits that include three home runs. She has 21 RBI and has scored 20 runs.
First baseman Danielle Sprinkle (Jr./Salina, Kan.) is ranked third in the MIAA with 23 walks. She is batting .308 on the year with four home runs and a team high 30 RBI.
Outfielder Cassidy Berry i(Jr./Shawnee, Kan.) is eighth in the MIAA with 14 stolen bases. Berry is batting .283 with 26 hits that include five doubles, a triple and a homer.
Katy Rae Nordman (Jr./Augusta, Kan.) and Hailey Cope (Jr./Baldwin, Kan.) have switched back and forth between third base and designated player. Nordman is batting .313 with two homers and 16 RBI. Cope is batting .237 with nine doubles and 23 RBI.
Outfielder Annelise Rockley (Jr./Independence, Mo.) is batting .300 on the year with 14 runs scored, 13 RBI and five doubles.
Second baseman Katie Yoakum (Jr./Shawnee, Kan.) is hitting .236 with 18 runs scored on the year. Yoakum has 25 hits that include six doubles.
Outfielder McKenna Davis (Jr./Olathe, Kan.) is ranked third in the MIAA with 17 stolen bases. She is batting .250 on the season and has a .304 on base percentage.
EMPORIA STATE PITCHINGÂ
Emporia State pitching is third in the MIAA with 11 shut outs. The staff has a 2.91 combined ERA that ranks fifth in the MIAA.
Eryn Stockman (Sr./Lindsborg, Kan.) is fourth in the nation and second the MIAA with eight shutouts. She is ranked second in the league with 18 wins and 178.1 innings pitched, is fourth with a 1.73 ERA and a .218 opponent batting average, and is eighth with 85 strikeouts. She is ranked tenth among active NCAA Division II players with 66 complete games and ranks 11th with 17 shutouts in her career.
Holly Hinkel (Jr./North Liberty, Iowa) is 6-10 with a 4.60 ERA in 23 appearances this year.
TRENDS
The Hornets are 21-0 when they hold opponents to two runs or less.
The Hornets are 19-2 when leading after four innings.
The Hornets are out-scoring opponents 39-14 in the fourth inning.
The Hornets have won the first game in their last six double headers.Â
The Hornets have 59 RBI in 118 chances with a runner on third with less than two outs.
TOURNAMENTS WITH HUDDLESTON
???????Huddleston is 21-18 in tournament play as head coach at Emporia State. The Hornets went 4-1 at the St. Cloud Indoor Tournament last season and 2-2 at the Ark.-Monticello Tournament in 2016. In the 2017 season, Huddleston went 1-4 at the Southeastern Oklahoma State Tournament, 4-2 at the ASU George McCorkle Challenge, 5-1 at the 8-States Classic and 3-3 at the St. Cloud Indoor Tournament.
SUCCESS IN MAYÂ
Emporia State has played in 12 NCAA Tournaments with a 35-25 (.583) overall record in NCAA Tournament play. The Hornets are 20-13 in NCAA tournament elimination games all-time. Emporia State has played in ten of the last 14 MIAA Tournament championship games with eight titles. Since 2001 the Hornets are 49-16 (.753) in 49-16 (.753) in MIAA Tournament play with a 48-12 (.800) record over the last 13 tournaments.
HORNET HISTORY
Emporia State has finished as the NCAA Division II National Runners-up twice, in 2006 and 2008. The Hornets have qualified for NCAA Regional play in 11 of the last 13 years and 12 times in the last 21 seasons. The Hornets won the NAIA National Championship in 1983 and 1984 and won the AIAW National Championship in 1980.
The Hornets were MIAA regular season champions four straight years from 2005-08 and MIAA Tournament champions seven straight years running from 2004-10. Emporia State has claimed the regular season title (2005-08, 2010-12, 2014) and the tournament title (2004-10, 2012) eight times each in the 21st Century.
