Emporia State Hornets (16-28, 6-12 MIAA)
vs. Southwest Baptist Bearcats (15-26, 5-11 MIAA)
Thursday, April 12, 2018 • 12:30 p.m. [DH] • Trusler Sports Complex • Emporia, Kan.
Series: ESU leads 44-12 Last: SBU 3, ESU 0 (April 14, 2017)
vs. Central Missouri Jennies (24-16, 13-3 MIAA)
Friday, April 13, 2018 • 3:00 p.m. [DH] • Trusler Sports Complex • Emporia, Kan.
Series: ESU leads 59-43 Last: UCM 8, ESU 3 (April 15, 2017)
Up Next: at William Jewell • April 18, 2018 • 3:00 p.m. [DH] • Liberty, Mo.
Live Stats
MAKING MOVES
Emporia State has moved up their home weekend series as the Hornets will play doubleheaders against Southwest Baptist on Thursday, April 12 and Central Missouri on Friday, April 13.     Â
LAST AT BATÂ
Emporia State split their non-conference doubleheader against Newman on Tuesday. The Hornets fell 3-2 in the opener and won the nightcap 5-1 versus the Jets on Turnbull Field. In game one, Destiny Ojigoh was one for two at the dish, hitting her third home run of the season. In the nightcap, the Hornets would score in three straight innings on their way to a 5-1 win. Annie Rockley was one for two at the plate with two runs scored and a double. Kelsey Phillips started the game in the circle and held the Jets hitless through the first four innings.  Â
THE COACHESÂ
April Huddleston-Rosales is 71-86 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 2-2 against Southwest Baptist and 2-2 against Central Missouri as a head coach.
Jim Flora is 111-140 in his fourth year as head coach for the Bearcats. He is 4-4 against Emporia State.
Susan Anderson is 340-256 in her 12th season as head coach for the Jennies. She is 6-24 against Emporia State.
ABOUT THE HORNETSÂ
Emporia State is 16-28 overall and 6-12 in the MIAA. The Hornets are hitting .294 as a team with a 4.67 ERA. They lead the MIAA with 80 stolen bases in 44 games. The Hornets are fourth in the MIAA with 60 doubles this season. Danielle Sprinkle is second in the MIAA and ranks 13th nationally with 15 doubles and is fifth in the conference with 35 RBI. Annie Rockley is eighth in the MIAA with 32 runs scored and has 46 hits on the season. Montana Mesler is tied for sixth in the conference with 88 strikeouts and has pitched 133.1 innings this season.
SCOUTING SBU
The Bearcats are 15-26 on the season and 5-11 in MIAA play. They are hitting .214 as a team and have a team ERA of 3.52 on the season. Claire Miller leads the conference with 179 strikeouts and has posted a 2.08 ERA. Emporia State leads the all-time series 44-12. Â
SCOUTING CENTRAL MISSOURI
The Jennies have an overall record of 24-16, while going 13-3 in the MIAA. Lauryn Deer is fifth in the conference with 54 hits and has a .406 batting average. The Hornets lead the all-time series 59-43.
UP NEXTÂ
Emporia State travels to Liberty, Mo. on Wednesday, April 18 to face William Jewell in a non-conference doubleheader. Game one has a scheduled first pitch of 3:00 p.m. with the second game to follow.
HORNET HITTINGÂ
The Hornets have a .294 team batting average on the season. Emporia State has scored 215 runs on 358 hits with 60 doubles, six triples, and 15 home runs for a .390 team slugging percentage. Â
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 second in the MIAA with 15 doubles on the season, while batting .333 and slugging .566 with 35 RBI.
Caitlin VanVleck has 38 hits on the year for a .299 batting average. She has scored 25 runs on the season, including the game-winning run against #10 Southern Arkansas. Â
Annie Rockley is eighth in the MIAA with 32 runs scored while hitting .331 with four doubles, three triples, and three home runs. She is 16 for 19 on stolen base attempts.
Hailey Cope ranks third in the MIAA and 24th nationally with 14 doubles on the season. She has scored 27 runs on 36 hits with 24 RBI, and a home run.
Kenzie Garvin is fourth in the conference with 19 stolen bases on the season, while hitting .321 with 28 runs scored.
EMPORIA STATE PITCHINGÂ
Emporia State has a 4.67 team ERA with 155 strikeouts, 21 complete games, and a .317 opponent batting average.Â
Montana Mesler is 7-12 with a 3.94 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 133.1 innings pitched. She is fourth in the MIAA with 13 complete games pitched this year.
Kelsey Phillips has a 4-9 record in 85.2 innings with 45 strikeouts, five complete games pitched, and a save.
Destiny Ojigoh is 4-6 with a 5.82 ERA and an opponent batting average of .363 in 55.1 innings pitched. Â
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. Â
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 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 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.
