Emporia State Hornets (13-21, 5-7 MIAA)
vs. Washburn Ichabods (24-7, 9-1 MIAA)
Friday, March 30, 2018 • 4:00 p.m. [DH] • Trusler Sports Complex • Emporia, Kan.
at Washburn Ichabods (24-7, 9-1 MIAA)
Saturday, March 31, 2018 • 1:00 p.m. [DH] • WU Softball Complex • Topeka, Kan.
Series: ESU leads 92-56-1 Last: ESU 6, WU 1 (April 11, 2017)
Up Next: at Ft. Hays State • April 6, 2018 • 2:00 p.m. [DH] • Hays, Kan.
Live Stats
TURNPIKE TUSSLE
The Hornets will play a pair of doubleheaders against Washburn this weekend. Emporia State will play host to the Turnpike Tussle on Friday, March 30 before heading to Topeka, Kan. on Saturday, March 31 to play a non-conference doubleheader against the Ichabods.
LAST AT BAT
Emporia State would rally in the bottom of the seventh on their way to a 4-3 walk-off win in nine innings in their opener against Northeastern St. The Hornets would fall in the nightcap by a score of 4-3. In game one, Katy Rae Nordman tied the game in the bottom of the seventh and then brought the game winning run home on her RBI single in the bottom of the ninth. Montana Mesler picked up her sixth win of the year by pitching all nine innings and striking out seven. Emporia State scored three runs on seven hits in the nightcap. Annie Rockley was one for two with an RBI and a run scored. McKenna Davis and Danielle Sprinkle each had a hit and an RBI in the game.
THE COACHES
April Huddleston-Rosales is 68-79 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 5-3 against Washburn as a head coach.
Brenda Holaday is 49-37 in her second year as head coach for the Ichabods. She is 1-3 against Emporia State.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 13-21 overall and 5-7 in the MIAA. The Hornets are hitting .303 as a team with a 5.03 ERA. They lead the MIAA and rank 28th nationally with 71 stolen bases in 34 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 is third in the conference with 31 RBI. Annie Rockley is tied for fourth in the MIAA with 28 runs scored and has 35 hits on the season. Montana Mesler has struck out 71 hitters in 99 innings pitched.
SCOUTING WASHBURN
The Ichabods are 24-7 on the season and 9-1 in MIAA play. They have a team batting average of .315 which is fourth in the conference. Megan Deiter is 10-0 in the circle this year and her 2.02 ERA leads the MIAA.
SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series 92-56-1 against Washburn. The Hornets have won 42 of the last 45 games between the two teams.
LAST AT BAT AGAINST WU
Emporia State earned a sweep of Washburn in Topeka to take the season series three games to one. The Hornets won the matinee 7-5 in 11 innings and then won 6-1 in the nightcap.
UP NEXT
Emporia State travels to Hays, Kan. to face Ft. Hays State on Friday, April 6. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
HORNET HITTING
The Hornets have a .303 team batting average on the season. Emporia State has scored 187 runs on 290 hits with 46 doubles, five triples, and 13 home runs for a .402 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 .360 and slugging .640 with 31 RBI.
Caitlin VanVleck has 35 hits on the year for a .347 batting average. She has scored 23 runs on the season, including the game-winning run against #10 Southern Arkansas.
Annie Rockley is tied for third in the MIAA with 28 runs scored while hitting .321 with two doubles, three triples, and two home runs. She is 15 for 28 on stolen base attempts.
Hailey Cope has 29 hits and 23 runs scored on the season with 23 RBI, nine doubles, and a home run.
Kenzie Garvin is tied for second in the conference with 17 stolen bases on the season, while hitting .339 with 26 runs scored.
EMPORIA STATE PITCHING
Emporia State has a 5.03 team ERA with 128 strikeouts, 13 complete games, and a .325 opponent batting average.
Montana Mesler is 6-8 with 4.24 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 99 innings pitched. She is tied for eighth in the MIAA with eight complete games pitched this year.
Kelsey Phillips has a 2-8 record in 65.2 innings with 37 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.
