Emporia State Hornets (14-24, 5-9 MIAA)
at Ft. Hays State Tigers (9-29, 5-11 MIAA)
Wednedsday, April 4, 2018 • 3:00 p.m. [DH] • Tiger Stadium • Hays, Kan.
Series: ESU leads 43-29 Last: FHSU 5, ESU 4 (April 7, 2017)
at Neb.-Kearney Lopers (12-21, 8-8 MIAA)
Thursday, April 5, 2018 • 12:00 p.m. [DH] • Dryden Park • Kearney, Neb.
Series: ESU leads 20-15 Last: UNK 4, ESU 2 (April 8, 2017)
Up Next: vs. Newman • April 10, 2018 • 4:00 p.m. [DH] • Emporia, Kan.
Live Stats
MIDWEEK ROAD TRIP
The threat of inclement weather has changed the Hornets' schedule again as Emporia State moves up their weekend road trip to play a pair of midweek doubleheaders. The Hornets will travel to Hays, Kan. to face Ft. Hays State on Wednesday, April 4 and then will play at Neb.-Kearney on Thursday, April 5.
LAST AT BAT
Emporia State split day two of their weekend series against Washburn on Saturday in Topeka, Kan. The Hornets fell in the opener 8-0 in five innings. Hailey Cope was a perfect two for two at the plate and picked up her tenth double of the year. In the nightcap, the Hornets would score two runs in the top of the eighth on their way to a 9-7 win in eight innings. Annie Rockley was three for four with four RBI and hit her third home run of the year.
THE COACHES
April Huddleston-Rosales is 69-82 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 Ft. Hays State and 1-3 against Neb.-Kearney as a head coach.
Adrian Pilkington is 73-125 in her fourth year as head coach for the Tigers. She is 3-3 against Emporia State.
Holly Carnes is 344-457 in her 18th year as head coach for the Lopers. She is 4-7 against Emporia State.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 14-24 overall and 5-9 in the MIAA. The Hornets are hitting .300 as a team with a 5.07 ERA. They lead the MIAA and rank 27th nationally with 75 stolen bases in 38 games. The Hornets are third in the MIAA with 53 doubles this season. Danielle Sprinkle is second in the MIAA and is tied for sixth nationally with 15 doubles and is fourth in the conference with 32 RBI. Annie Rockley is tied for fifth in the MIAA with 30 runs scored and has 38 hits on the season. Montana Mesler is fourth in the conference with 84 strikeouts and has pitched 114 innings this season.
SCOUTING FORT HAYS STATE
The Tigers are 9-29 on the season and 5-11 in MIAA play. They are hitting .292 as a team on the year with 153 runs scored in 38 games. Grace Philop is tied for fifth in the conference with 45 hits on the year. The Hornets lead the all-time series 43-29.
SCOUTING NEB.-KEARNEY
The Lopers are 12-21 overall and 8-8 in the MIAA. As a team, they are are third in the conference with a .389 on-base percentage. Cheyenne Hamilton leads the team with a .376 batting average, along with 26 RBI and ten doubles on the season. The Hornets lead the all-time series 20-15.
UP NEXT
Emporia State returns home to play a non-conference doubleheader against Newman on Tuesday, April 10. First pitch from Trusler is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
HORNET HITTING
The Hornets have a .300 team batting average on the season. Emporia State has scored 197 runs on 317 hits with 53 doubles, five triples, and 14 home runs for a .399 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 second in the MIAA with 15 doubles on the season, while batting .348 and slugging .616 with 32 RBI.
Caitlin VanVleck has 36 hits on the year for a .324 batting average. She has scored 24 runs on the season, including the game-winning run against #10 Southern Arkansas.
Annie Rockley is tied for fifth in the MIAA with 30 runs scored while hitting .314 with two doubles, three triples, and three home runs. She is 15 for 28 on stolen base attempts.
Hailey Cope has 35 hits and 25 runs scored on the season with 24 RBI, 13 doubles, and a home run.
Kenzie Garvin is third in the conference with 18 stolen bases on the season, while hitting .333 with 27 runs scored.
EMPORIA STATE PITCHING
Emporia State has a 5.07 team ERA with 145 strikeouts, 15 complete games, and a .326 opponent batting average.
Montana Mesler is 7-9 with a 4.30 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 114 innings pitched. She is tied for sixth in the MIAA with ten complete games pitched this year.
Kelsey Phillips has a 2-9 record in 71.2 innings with 39 strikeouts, three complete games pitched, and a save.
Destiny Ojigoh is 4-5 with a 5.96 ERA and an opponent batting average of .357 in 49.1 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.
