#14 HORNET BASEBALL PLAYS HOST TO LINDENWOOD

#14 Emporia State Hornets (32-8, 21-5 MIAA) vs.
Lindenwood Lions (25-14, 18-9 MIAA)
Saturday, April 22, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. • Glennen Field/Trusler Sports Complex • Emporia, Kan.
Sunday, April 23, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. • Glennen Field/Trusler Sports Complex • Emporia, Kan.
Monday, April 24, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. • Glennen Field/Trusler Sports Complex • Emporia, Kan.
Series Record: ESU leads 8-5 Last Meeting: at LWU 4, ESU 2 (4/24/16)
Radio: KFFX 104.9FM (Sunday only) Internet Desk Top Audio: kvoe.com (Sunday Only)
Mobile Audio (Sunday Only): (Apple App Store) (Google Play)
Live Stats Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: at Washburn • April 26, 2017 • Falley Field • Topeka, Kan.

DEFENDING THE TOP SPOT
The #14 Hornets continue their home stand in a three game series against Lindenwood from April 22-24. Emporia State looks to defend their top spot in the MIAA as Lindenwood currently sits second in the conference.

LAST AT BAT
The #14 Hornets run-ruled Washburn 16-6 in eight innings in the second Turnpike Tussle of the season. Emporia State fell behind 4-0 after the first inning, but scored in every following inning on the way to the win. Mack Gowing hit four for four, walking twice and scoring three runs. Wade Hanna went two for four with three RBI and two runs. Levi Ashmore hit two for three, scored three runs and brought in two RBI. Alex White had three RBI while Ryan McBroom hit three for five with two runs. Kaden Shaffer scored three runs. Seth Holman improved to 7-2, pitching 2.0 innings, allowing one run on one hit with two strikeouts.

THE COACHES
Bob Fornelli is 555-237 in his 14th season at Emporia State and is 861-350 overall in his 21st year as a four year head coach. He is the fifth winningest active coach in NCAA Division II and is 14th in total victories. Fornelli is the winningest active MIAA coach. He has led Emporia State to two Division II World Series appearances in 11 trips to the NCAA Tournament. Fornelli has taken teams to the NCAA Tournament 16 times, and was the national runner-up in 2009 with Emporia State and in 2000 while at Ft. Hays State. He is 8-5 against the Lions.
Doug Bletcher is 307-212-1 in his tenth year as the head coach at Lindenwood. He is 5-8 against the Hornets.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 32-8 on the season, 21-5 in the MIAA and are ranked 14th in the nation. Although no individual is ranked in the top 20 nationally, the Hornets are sixth in the nation in scoring, and tenth in stolen bases and walks. Levi Ashmore is third in the MIAA in runs scored and fourth in stolen bases. Ryan McBroom is fourth in the league in slugging percentage, while Kaden Shaffer and Alex White are tied for fifth in on base percentage. Emporia State's seven shutouts are the fifth most in the nation and the Hornets are seventh in Division II in walks allowed per nine innings. Seth Holman is second in the MIAA in wins and ninth in strikeouts. Nathan Whitcomb is third in saves. Emporia State is ranked fifth in the nation in double plays turned and are seventh in fielding percentage.

SCOUTING THE LIONS
???????Lindenwood is 25-14 on the season and 18-9 in the MIAA. The Lions are hitting .299 as a team and are fourth in the MIAA with 60 stolen bases. Wes Degener is third in the MIAA with a .418 batting average. Lindenwood's staff is second in the MIAA with 300 strikeouts and have a 4.46 team ERA. Brendan Feldmann is second in the league with 74 strike outs. 

THE SERIES
Emporia State leads the all-time series 8-5 over Lindenwood.

LAST TIME AGAINST LINDENWOOD
Emporia State had six base runners in the final two innings but could only score twice in a 4-2 loss at Lindenwood.

ON DECK
The #14 Hornets face Washburn in Turnpike Tussle part three in Topeka on Wednesday, April 26 at 5:00 p.m.

HE'S A WINNER
Emporia State head baseball coach Bob Fornelli has 861 career wins and is 555-237 (.701) in his 14th 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 11 trips to the NCAA Tournament in his first 13 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 16 of his 20 years as a collegiate coach and is the winningest active MIAA 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 fifth winningest active coach in NCAA Division II and ranks 14th in career victories with an 861-350 (.711) record in his 21st season as a head coach.
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-CSIC 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.

BEHIND AND AT THE PLATE
Catcher/DH Mason Brown (Jr./Littleton, Colo.) is tenth in the MIAA with a .375 batting average. He has 11 doubles, six home runs and 38 RBI on the year. He has thrown out eight runners trying to steal this year.
DH/catcher Taylor Sanagorski (Jr./Wichita, Kan.) is batting .250 with six home runs, three doubles, a triple and 27 RBI. He is batting .448 with runners in scoring position. He has thrown out six would be base stealers.

AROUND THE HORN
First baseman Kaden Shaffer (Jr./Ottawa, Kan.) is fifth in the MIAA a .468 on base percentage and eighth with 40 runs scored. He is batting .357 with seven home runs, seven doubles, three triples and 38 RBI. He is batting .394 over the last ten games.
Second baseman Ryan McBroom (Sr./Wichita, Kan.) is fourth in the conference with .667 slugging percentage, sixth with four triples, ninth with a .455 on base percentage and tenth with 40 RBI. He is batting .364 on the year with seven home runs and 11 doubles. He is hitting .375 with 13 RBI in his last ten games.
Shortstop Levi Ashmore (Sr./Iola, Kan.) ranks third in the MIAA with 46 runs scored and is fourth with 17 stolen bases. He is batting .333 with three home runs, 17 RBI and a team best 12 doubles on the year. He has a .538 on base percentage when leading off an inning.
Third baseman Alex White (Sr./Colorado Springs, Colo.) is fifth in the MIAA with a .468 on base percentage. He is batting .360 with five doubles, 29 RBI  and 28 runs scored. He had a 19 game hitting streak snapped in Tahlequah, but has reached base safely in 23 straight games.

OUT IN THE FIELD
Outfielder Mack Gowing (Jr./Wichita, Kan.) is hitting .360 with five doubles, a triple, a home run and 26 RBI. He has six stolen bases and 33 runs scored. He has two outfield assists this year.
Outfielder BJ Dean (Sr./Pratt, Kan.) is eighth in the MIAA with nine home runs. He is batting .278 with six doubles, 31 RBI and 34 runs scored. He has four outfield assists on the season.
Outfielder Wade Hanna (Sr./Shawnee, Kan.) is batting .290 with eight doubles, three triples, a home run, 20 RBI and 29 runs scored. He has two outfield assists this season.

IN A PINCH
Infielder Tucker Perkins (So./Belton, Mo.) has been the Hornets most used pinch hitter. He is batting .313 in 16 pinch hit at bats. He is batting .306 on the season in 24 games with four starts. He is hitting .385 with runners on base and .412 with runners in scoring position. 
Outfielder Jonny Hodges (Jr./DeSoto, Kan.) is the second most used pinch hitter for the Hornets with ten pinch hit at bats. He is batting .242 on the season with a .342 on base percentage in 25 games with seven starts. He has also been used as a pinch runner six times with a stolen base and run scored in that role.
Outfielder David Oropeza (Jr./Nogales, Ariz.) has been used as a pinch runner 12 times this year and has scored half the time he has been used in that role. He has four stolen bases as a pinch runner. He is three for five as a pinch hitter with three RBI as a pinch hitter. He is batting .333 in 23 games with one start.

TIMELY HITTING
Infielder/DH Daniel LaMunyon (Sr./Leawood, Kan.) has two late inning, game winning home runs on the season. He is sixth in the MIAA with 14 stolen bases. He is batting .259 on the year with 20 RBI, 22 runs and five home runs. He has played in 30 games with 20 starts.
Infielder Tate Kastens (Jr./Denver, Colo.) is batting .480 with runners on base and .450 with runners in scoring position. In 20 games with ten starts he is batting .346 with three home runs and 18 RBI.    

ON THE MOUND
Right-handed pitcher Seth Holman (Jr./Wichita, Kan.) is ranked second in the MIAA with seven wins, is third in the league with 1.93 walks per nine innings, sixth in the league with a 3.57 strikeout to walk ratio and 65.1 innings, and ranks ninth with 50 strikeouts. He is 7-2 with a 3.86 ERA and 50 strikeouts with just 14 walks on the season. He has pitched into the sixth in eight of his ten starts with one complete game shutout and two combined shutouts.
Right-handed pitcher Tanner Cairns (So./Wichita, Kan.) is  sixth in the MIAA with a 3.02 ERA. He is 5-1 with 37 strikeouts in 11 appearances with eight starts. He has gone at least 5.0 innings in all eight of his starts with a complete game, three-hit shut out against Neb.-Kearney.
Left-handed pitcher Jordan Plank (Sr./Wichita, Kan.) is 5-1 on the year with a 5.51 ERA and 41 strikeouts on the year.
Left-handed pitcher Nathan Gieber (Jr./Concordia, Kan.) is 2-0 in 15 appearances with eight starts. He has a 6.86 ERA and a 3.75 strikeout to walk ratio with 30 strikeouts and only eight walks.

IN THE BULLPEN
Right-handed pitcher Nathan Whitcomb (Sr./Humboldt, Kan.) is ranked third in the MIAA and 21st in the nation with seven saves on the year. He is 3-1 with a 1.11 ERA, 14 strikeouts and two walks in 24.1 innings pitched. His ERA is the lowest in the MIAA among pitchers with at least 10.0 innings pitched.
Right-handed pitcher Layne Downing (Jr./Hays, Kan.) is 3-3 with a 2.61 ERA in 16 appearances. He has 19 strikeouts in 31.0 innings while allowing only eight walks. His 2.61 ERA is eighth in the MIAA among pitchers with at least 20.0 innings on the year.
Right-handed pitcher Matt Slauter (Sr./Olathe, Kan.) is 1-0 with a 3.06 ERA with a combined shutout in three starts and 11 appearances. He has 18 strikeouts and four walks in 17.2 innings pitched.
Right-handed pitcher Trey Taylor (So./Paola, Kan.) is 1-0 with a 2.53 ERA in ten relief appearances and opponents are hitting just .194 against him. He has been  part of two combined shutouts this year.
Right-handed pitcher Jacob Tetuan (Jr./Topeka, Kan.) is 1-0 with a 3.77 ERA in 12 appearances. He has seen 14.1 innings this season with 12 strikeouts and only three walks. Opponents are batting .254 against him this year.
Right-handed pitcher Taylor Thompson (Jr./Cuba, Mo.) is 3-0 with a 4.76 ERA in 21 relief appearances. He has 19 strikeouts in 22.2 innings pitched with only four walks.
Left-handed pitcher Tyler Buss (Sr./Jay, Okla.) is 1-0 with a 7.98 ERA in ten games with two starts. Buss has 16 strikeouts in 14.2 innings pitched.

TRENDS
The Hornets are 19-1 when they score first and 12-1 when they score in the first.
The Hornets out-score their opponents 60-21 in the second and 24-5 in the ninth.
The Hornets are 12-0 when they hold their opponents to two runs or less.
The Hornets are 12-0 when scoring at least ten runs.
The Hornets are 20-0 when leading after eight innings.
The Hornets are 5-1 when tied after seven innings.
The Hornets are 5-4 when trailing after six innings.
The Hornets are ranked seventh in the nation with a .974 fielding percentage
Five of Emporia State's eight losses are by one run.
The Hornets are batting a collective .317 in 63 pinch hit at bats with nine batters recording at least one pinch hit.
Three Hornets have had a hitting streak of at least 15 games with Alex White having a season high 19 game hitting streak.

WALKING OFF 
The Hornets have trailed in the fourth inning or later in ten of their 18 comeback wins this season, with six walk-offs, two of which they trailed going into the bottom of the ninth. On February 18 Alex White had an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth of a 9-8 walk off win against Missouri S&T after trailing 8-6 through seven innings. In an extended game due to weather delay, Kaden Shaffer hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth for a 5-4 win against Missouri Southern after trailing 3-1 headed into the sixth inning. Against Newman on March 15, the Hornets trailed 6-2 after five innings before Daniel LaMunyon hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 12th inning for a 7-6 win. Against Neb.-Kearney on March 26, the Hornets came back from an 8-4 deficit going into the bottom of the seventh to win 9-8 with a walk-off single from Wade Hanna in the ninth inning. On April 7 Emporia State trailed 8-6 going into the bottom of the ninth against Central Missouri and scored three runs on one hit, winning 9-8 when Ryan McBroom scored on a wild pitch. Two days later the Hornets again trailed the Mules 8-6 going to the bottom of the ninth and won on Kaden Shaffer's RBI single with the bases loaded.

HISTORY
Emporia State advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year in the 2016 season and the 11th time in the last 13 seasons. The Hornets have finished second in MIAA regular season play for the past three seasons.
Under Coach Fornelli, Emporia State won the MIAA Tournament in 2014 and 2007 and claimed the regular season title in 2011, 2009, 2008 and 2006.

RECORD BOOKS
In his fourth and final season with the Hornets, Wade Hanna looks to make an impact on the career batting recordings. Hanna currently sits third all-time with 685 at-bats and 211 hits. He is fourth all-time with 159 career runs scored. He now is sixth with 201 games played, 40 doubles and ten triples at Emporia State. He needs one more double to tie Mike Carlson for fifth and one triple to tie Mike Peterson for fifth on the Hornet career lists. He has 125 career RBI, needing 16 more to break into the Emporia State top ten. 
Among active NCAA Division II players he ranks third in games played, 11th in at bats, 14th in runs and 25th in total bases.

REGIONALLY SPEAKING 
Emporia State was ranked third in the NCAA Central Region last year and was one of two MIAA teams in the regional tournament. The automatic qualifiers from the MIAA, Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and Great American Conference along with the next three highest ranked regional teams make up the NCAA Central Regional Tournament. The MIAA is the only conference among the three to have a winning record against non-conference opponents.  The  MIAA is 101-56-1 (.642) against outside competition while the Northern Sun is 52-69 (.430) and the GAC is 39-79-1 (.332) against outside foes. The MIAA is 11-4 (.733) against the Northern Sun and 26-13-1 (.663) against the GAC.

IN THE POLLS 
There are several national rankings in NCAA Division II for baseball. Emporia State is ranked #14 in ABCA Collegiate Baseball Newspaper for the April 17 Poll. The Hornets are ranked fourth in the Perfect Game  D2 Top 25, #10 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Top 25, and #11 in the D2 Baseball News National Rankings. In two computer ratings systems, the Hornets are #10 in the HeroSports rankings and #11 in the Massey ratings.