Emporia State Hornets (7-8, 0-0 MIAA)
vs. Central Oklahoma Bronchos (10-4, 0-0 MIAA)
Friday, March 2, 2018 • 3:00 p.m. [DH]
Turnbull Field/Trusler Sports Complex • Emporia, Kan.
Live Stats •
Ticket Info •
Complete Notes in pdf
Series: Tied 26-26 Last: UCO 10, ESU 6 (MIAA Tourney) (4/30/17)
Up Next: Rogers State (Okla.) • March 6, 2018 • 3:00 pm • Claremore, Okla.
MIAA CHAMPIONSHIP REMATCH
The Hornets open up MIAA action with a doubleheader against Central Oklahoma in a rematch of the 2017 MIAA Tournament Championship Game.
LAST AT BAT
After having to reschedule games due to inclement weather, the Hornets played host to McKendree University with a doubleheader on Feb. 26. The Hornets split the series, losing game one 3-0 and winning the late game 5-4. In the first game, the Hornets were unable to capitalize on their five hits leaving six runners on base. Caitlin VanVleck led the Hornets with two hits in three at-bats. Montana Mesler pitched a complete game allowing three runs on eight hits with eight strikeouts. In the late game, the Hornets scored all five of their runs in the bottom of the first inning. McKenna Davis went one for three at the plate with two RBI. Cassidy Beem, Annie Rockley, and Hailey Cope each had a double and an RBI. Destiny Ojigoh picked up her third win of the season and Kelsey Phillips pitched 2.2 innings of relief to earn her first save.
THE COACHES
April Huddleston-Rosales is 62-66 in her third year as the head coach at Emporia State. She became head coach after having served as an assistant for seven seasons. She 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 0-6 against Central Oklahoma.
Cody White is 180-72 in his fifth year as head coach at Central Oklahoma. White is 10-5 against the Hornets.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 7-8 on the season after splitting the series against McKendree. The Hornets have scored in the first inning in 12 out of 15 games The Hornets are hitting .308 as a team with a 5.47 ERA. They lead the MIAA and rank 17th nationally with 34 stolen bases in 15 games.
ABOUT CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
Central Oklahoma is 10-4 on the season. Carrie Abrams leads the team with 23 hits for a .479 batting average and 16 runs scored. Jayden Chestnut is 7-1 in the circle with a 1.81 ERA and six complete games pitched.
SERIES HISTORY
The all-time series is tied 26-26. The two teams faced each other in the MIAA Tournament Championship last season in the tenth post season match-up between the two.
LAST AT BAT WITH UCO
The eighth seeded Emporia State softball team fell 10-6 to top seeded Central Oklahoma in the MIAA Tournament championship Game. Annie Rockley led the Hornets, going three for four with two runs scored. McKenna Davis and Hailey Cope each went two for four, Davis with two runs. Eryn Stockman fell to 24-14 on the season, pitching 1.1 inning and allowing six runs on five hits. Holly Hinkel pitched the middle 5.2 innings, allowing four runs on five hits.
UP NEXT
Emporia State heads to Claremore, Okla. to face Rogers State in a doubleheader on Tuesday, March 6. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
HORNET HITTING
The Hornets have a .308 team batting average on the season. Emporia State has scored 85 runs on 135 hits with 24 doubles, three triples, and four home runs for a .404 team slugging percentage.
Danielle Sprinkle was named the MIAA Softball Hitter of the Week on Feb. 13 after hitting .571 with a 1.214 slugging percentage with seven RBI in four games as Emporia State went 3-1 at the Ark.-Monticello D2 Challenge. She is batting .354 on the season with a team high seven doubles for a .625 slugging percentage and 14 RBI in 15 games.
Caitlin VanVleck leads the team with 19 hits and has a .422 batting average. She has scored nine runs on the season, including the game-winning run against #10 Southern Arkansas.
Valerie Kinney is hitting .364 on the year with seven RBI, a double, and a triple.
Annie Rockley has a team high 12 runs scored while hitting .320 with two doubles, and two triples. She is eight for nine on stolen base attempts.
EMPORIA STATE PITCHING
Emporia State has a 5.47 team ERA with 61 strikeouts, seven complete games, and a .323 opponent batting average.
Montana Mesler is 2-4 with 34 strikeouts in 48.2 innings pitched and four complete games.
Kelsey Phillips has a 2-4 record in 32.1 innings with 20 strikeouts, two complete games pitched, and a save.
Destiny Ojigoh is 3-0 with a 5.33 ERA and an opponents batting average of .346.
TOURNAMENTS WITH HUDDLESTON-ROSALES
Huddleston-Rosales is 30-27 in tournament play as head coach at Emporia State. The Hornets went 4-1 at the St. Cloud Indoor Tournament and 2-2 at the Ark.-Monticello Tournament in 2016. In the 2017 season, Huddleston-Rosales 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. The Hornets went 2-3 at the Lubbock Sports Classic to open the 2018 season, followed by a 3-1 outing at the Ark.-Monticello D-II Challenge in Bentonville, Ark. The Hornets finished 1-3 at the 2018 ESU 6-State Classic and picked up their second win against a ranked opponent with a walk-off win against #10 Southern Arkansas.
In 2017, Huddleston-Rosales made her first appearance in the MIAA Tournament as head coach, going 4-2 and finishing second, losing to #1 seed Central Oklahoma in the championship game. She led the Hornets to their first MIAA Tournament championship appearance since 2013.
SUCCESS IN MAY
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 11 of the last 15 MIAA Tournament championship games with eight titles. Since 2001 the Hornets are 53-18 (.746) in MIAA Tournament play with a 52-14 (.788) record over the last 14 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 14 years and 12 times in the last 22 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.
