Emporia State Hornets (27-28, 14-12 MIAA)
at MIAA Tournament Championship
vs. Central Oklahoma Bronchos (33-21, 17-9 MIAA)
Saturday, April 28, 2018 • 11:00 a.m.
HOF-OGE Energy Field/ASA Hall of Fame Stadium • Oklahoma City, Okla.
Series: UCO leads 28-26 Last: UCO 6, ESU 2 (March 2, 2018)
Live Stats
MIAA CHAMPIONSHIP
Emporia State returns to the MIAA Tournament Championship where they will face #3 Central Oklahoma in a rematch of last year's championship. The Hornets and their 12 game-winning streak will face the Bronchos on Saturday, April 28 in Oklahoma City, Okla. with a first pitch at 11:00 a.m.
LAST AT BAT
The Hornets won 9-5 over Lindenwood in the MIAA Tournament Winner's Bracket Championship on Friday to advance to the championship game. Emporia State scored four runs in the first two innings and five runs in their final two frames to win 9-5. Annie Rockley had her 16th multi-hit game of the season, hitting two doubles with three RBI. Danielle Sprinkle was one for two with two RBI, a double, and a run scored. Montana Mesler started the game in the circle for Emporia State, going four innings and Mackenzie Thornton pitched three innings of relief, giving up one run and striking out four hitters to earn her second save of the season.
THE COACHES
April Huddleston-Rosales is 82-86 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 0-7 against Central Oklahoma as a head coach.
Cody White is 203-89 in his fifth year as head coach for the Bronchos. He is 12-5 against Emporia State.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 27-28 overall and 14-12 in the MIAA. The Hornets are on a 12-game winning streak, which is the team's longest since 2012 where they won 15 games in a row from March 25 to April 20. They lead the MIAA with 97 stolen bases in 55 games. Danielle Sprinkle is tied for second with former Hornet Miranda Campbell for the ESU single season record in doubles with 18 on the year. Montana Mesler is seventh in the conference with 106 strikeouts and has pitched 169.1 innings this season.
SCOUTING CENTRAL OKLA.
The Bronchos are 33-21 on the season and earned the #3 seed in the MIAA Tournament with a 17-9 conference record. They have a 3.66 team ERA with 175 strikeouts. Carrie Abrams earned MIAA Player of the Year this season, hitting .418 on the season.
SERIES HISTORY
Central Oklahoma leads the all-time series 28-26 against Emporia State.
LAST AT BAT AGAINST UCO
Emporia State Softball fell in both games of a double header to Central Oklahoma in their MIAA opener. They lost 4-2 in game one and fell 6-2 in the nightcap.
UP NEXT
If the Hornets win the MIAA Tournament, they will get an automatic bid into the NCAA Central Regional Tournament. if there is a game two, due to the double elimination setup, it will follow the first game.
HORNET HITTING
The Hornets have a .299 team batting average on the season. Emporia State has scored 278 runs on 448 hits with 82 doubles, seven triples, and 19 home runs for a .401 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 20 doubles on the season, while batting .356 and slugging .631 with 47 RBI.
Caitlin VanVleck has 52 hits on the year for a .327 batting average. She has scored 38 runs on the season, including the game-winning run against #10 Southern Arkansas.
Annie Rockley has 35 runs scored for the Hornets while hitting .335 with eight doubles, three triples, and three home runs. She is 19 for 25 on stolen base attempts.
Hailey Cope is tied for third in the MIAA and 23rd nationally with 17 doubles on the season. She has scored 30 runs on 40 hits with 26 RBI, and a home run.
Kenzie Garvin is fourth in the conference with 22 stolen bases on the season, while hitting .297 with 39 runs scored.
EMPORIA STATE PITCHING
Emporia State has a 5.42 team ERA with 185 strikeouts, 29 complete games, and a .299 opponent batting average.
Montana Mesler is 12-12 with a 5.00 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 169.1 innings pitched. She is fifth in the MIAA with 17 complete games pitched this year.
Kelsey Phillips has a 10-9 record in 117.1 innings with 52 strikeouts, nine complete games pitched, and a save. Currently, she has won her last eight decisions in the circle for the Hornets.
TOURNAMENTS WITH HUDDLESTON-ROSALES
Huddleston-Rosales is 34-31 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.
She led the Hornets to their second straight MIAA Championship game as an eighth seed in 2018. The Hornets were the first number eight seed to win the first three games of the MIAA Tournament.
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 12 of the last 16 MIAA Tournament championship games with eight titles. Since 2001 the Hornets are 56-18 (.757) in MIAA Tournament play with a 55-14 (.797) record over the last 15 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.
