Emporia State Hornets (12-20, 4-6 MIAA)
vs. Northeastern St. RiverHawks (17-14, 5-3 MIAA)
Wednesday, March 28, 2018 • 3:00 p.m. [DH] • Trusler Sports Complex • Emporia, Kan.
Series: ESU leads 25-23 Last: ESU 14, NSU 0 (March 21, 2017)
Up Next: Washburn • March 30, 2018 • 4:00 p.m. [DH] • Emporia, Kan.
Live Stats
MIDWEEK MATINEE
The Hornets return home to Trusler to host Northeastern St. in a midweek doubleheader on Wednesday, March 28.
LAST AT BAT
Emporia State picked up two run rule wins on their way to a sweep against Lincoln on Saturday in Jefferson City, Mo. The Hornets won the opener 10-2 in five innings and the second game 12-1 in five innings. Emporia State was able to take advantage on the base paths as the Hornets had seven stolen bases in game one. Kenzie Garvin was two for two at the plate with two runs scored, two RBI, and two stolen bases. Destiny Ojigoh had two hits with two RBI and a double in the game. Mackenzie Thornton picked up her first win of the year as she pitched three innings for Emporia State. The Hornets scored 12 runs on 11 hits in the nightcap. Destiny Ojigoh was two for three at the plate with three RBI, a double, and a run scored. McKenna Davis and Kenzie Garvin each had two hits and two runs score for the Hornets.
THE COACHES
April Huddleston-Rosales is 67-78 in her third year as the head coach at Emporia State. She 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 1-3 against Northeastern St as a head coach.
Clay Davis is 149-149 in his sixth year as head coach for the RiverHawks. He is 8-5 against Emporia State.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 12-20 overall and 4-6 in the MIAA. The Hornets are hitting .308 as a team with a 5.25 ERA. They lead the MIAA and rank 24th nationally with 70 stolen bases in 32 games. The Hornets are third in the MIAA with 46 doubles this season. Danielle Sprinkle leads the MIAA and is tied for ninth nationally with 13 doubles and has 29 RBI and four home runs on the season. Annie Rockley is fourth in the conference with 27 runs scored and has 34 hits on the season. Montana Mesler has struck out 64 hitters in 90 innings pitched.
SCOUTING NORTHEASTERN
The RiverHawks have a 17-14 overall record and are 5-3 in the MIAA. Northeastern St. is third in the conference in home runs, hitting 27 on the season. In the circle, Gail Young is 9-7 on the year with a 2.21 ERA and 11 complete games pitched.
SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series 25-23 against Northeastern St.
LAST AT BAT AGAINST NSU
Emporia State split their doubleheader at Northeastern St. The Hornets lost 9-3 in the matinee and won 14-0 in five innings in the night cap.
UP NEXT
Emporia State will play a pair of doubleheaders this weekend against Washburn as the Turnpike Tussle comes to Emporia, Kan. on Friday, March 30 and then to Topeka, Kan. on Saturday, March 31.
HORNET HITTING
The Hornets have a .308 team batting average on the season. Emporia State has scored 180 runs on 277 hits with 46 doubles, five triples, and 12 home runs for a .410 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 leads the MIAA with 13 doubles on the season, while batting .362 and slugging .628 with 29 RBI.
Caitlin VanVleck has 35 hits on the year for a .372 batting average. She has scored 23 runs on the season, including the game-winning run against #10 Southern Arkansas.
Annie Rockley is fourth in the MIAA with 27 runs scored while hitting .330 with two doubles, three triples, and two home runs. She is 15 for 28 on stolen base attempts.
Hailey Cope has 28 hits and 21 runs scored on the season with 23 RBI, nine doubles, and a home run.
Kenzie Garvin is third in the MIAA with 17 stolen bases on the season.
EMPORIA STATE PITCHING
Emporia State has a 5.25 team ERA with 119 strikeouts, 12 complete games, and a .329 opponent batting average.
Montana Mesler is 5-8 with 4.43 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 90 innings pitched. She is tied for fifth in the MIAA with seven complete games pitched this year.
Kelsey Phillips has a 2-7 record in 62.1 innings with 35 strikeouts, three complete games pitched, and a save.
Destiny Ojigoh is 4-4 with a 5.81 ERA and an opponent batting average of .351 in 47 innings pitched.
TOURNAMENTS WITH HUDDLESTON-ROSALES
Huddleston-Rosales is 31-31 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. At the ESU St. Patrick's Classic, the Hornets finished 1-4 and scored 28 runs in the tournament.
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.
