NCAA Central Regional Tournament Championship
Emporia State Hornets (30-30, 14-12 MIAA)
vs. Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (43-14, 20-6 NSIC)
Sunday, May 13, 2018 • 11:0 a.m. • Maynard R. Johnson Field • Winona, Minn.
Series: Tied 5-5 Last: UMD 4, ESU 3 (May 12, 2018)
Radio: KFFX (104.9FM) • Live Audio
Live Stats • Live Video • Complete Notes in pdf
WINNER-TAKE-ALL
Emporia State will play Minnesota-Duluth in a winner-take-all championship game in the NCAA Central Region 1 Tournament on Sunday, May 13. The Hornets and Bulldogs will face each other at 11:00 a.m. with the winner advancing to the Super Regional Championship.
LAST AT BAT
Emporia State fell 4-3 to Minnesota-Duluth in game one of the NCAA Central Region 1 Championship on Saturday. The Hornets scored three runs on five hits and Minnesota-Duluth scored their four runs on a pair of home runs. After a solo home run by the Bulldogs, Danielle Sprinkle came right back in the bottom half of the fourth with a solo home run of her own to tie the game at 1-1. The Bulldogs hit a three-run home run in the top of the fifth, but the Hornets came back with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Emporia State got RBI hits from Katy Rae Nordman and Hailey Cope. At the plate, Caitlin VanVleck went two for three with a run scored. Montana Mesler pitched a clean two innings of relief to give her tten straight scoreless innings pitched.
THE COACHES
April Huddleston-Rosales is 85-88 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 2-4 against Minnesota-Duluth as a head coach.
Jen Walter is 113-51 in her third year as head coach for the Bulldogs. She is 4-2 against Emporia State.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 30-30 and making thier 13th trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Hornets have won 15 of their last 17 games and were the first eight seed to win the MIAA Tournament. They lead the MIAA with 98 stolen bases and are ranked second in runs scored with 295 and 85 doubles. For the first time since 2008, the Hornets started a regional tournament by going 2-0. Through three games at regionals, Montana Mesler has allowed one run over 16 innings with ten strikeouts. She is fifth in the MIAA with 121 strikeouts on the season. Danielle Sprinkle is tied for second with former Hornet Miranda Campbell for the ESU single season record in doubles with 20 on the year.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA-DULUTH
The Bulldogs are 43-14 on the season and went 20-6 in the NSIC. They are the #4 seed in the Central Region and ranked #25 in the NFCA National Poll. They are hitting .288 as a team in their three games against the Hornets. In those three games, Hannah Schmoll is hitting .667 with four RBI and a home run.
SERIES HISTORY
The all-time series between the two teams is tied at five games a piece. Emporia State has faced the Bulldogs three times this year, going 1-2 in those matchups. Before this year, the two teams had never faced each other in the postseason and will now play for the third time in the regional tournament.
UP NEXT
With a win, Emporia State would advance to the NCAA Super Regional Tournament. The Hornets would face the number two seed of the tournament, Southern Arkansas in a best of three format that will take place next weekend.
HORNET HITTING
The Hornets have a .296 team batting average on the season. Emporia State has scored 295 runs on 483 hits with 85 doubles, eight triples, and 21 home runs for a .396 team slugging percentage.
Danielle Sprinkle garnered the final Louisville/Slugger NFCA Division II National Player of the Week honor of 2018 after hitting .714 with seven RBI, two doubles, and a home run in the MIAA Tournament. She 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 and ranks seventh nationally with 20 doubles on the season, while batting .366 and slugging .634 with 51 RBI. Her 20 doubles on the season is second on Emporia State's single-season record.
Caitlin VanVleck has 56 hits on the year for a .322 batting average. She has scored 39 runs on the season, including the game-winning run against #10 Southern Arkansas.
Annie Rockley has 37 runs scored on the season for the Hornets while hitting .328 with eight doubles, three triples, and four home runs. She is 19 for 25 on stolen base attempts. In the MIAA Tournament, she hit .375 with eight RBI, two doubles, and had a three-run home run in the MIAA Championship game.
Hailey Cope is third in the MIAA with 18 doubles on the season. She has scored 34 runs on 44 hits with 27 RBI, and a home run. She scored the final run of the Hornets' 6-0 win in the MIAA Championship game.
Kenzie Garvin is fourth in the conference with 23 stolen bases on the season, while hitting .300 with 44 runs scored. Throughout the MIAA Tournament, she hit .353 with a double, a triple, and eight runs scored.
EMPORIA STATE PITCHING
Emporia State has a 5.17 team ERA with 202 strikeouts, 32 complete games, and a .295 opponent batting average.
Montana Mesler is 15-12 with a 4.35 ERA and 121 strikeouts in 196.1 innings pitched. She is second in the MIAA with 21 complete games pitched this year. Through three games of the NCAA Regional Tournament, she has allowed one run through 16 innings and currently has a ten-inning scoreless streak.
Kelsey Phillips has a 10-11 record in 125.1 innings with 54 strikeouts, nine complete games pitched, and a save. From April 5 to April 27, she won eight straight decisions in the circle for the Hornets.
TOURNAMENTS WITH HUDDLESTON-ROSALES
Huddleston-Rosales is 37-33 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.
After leading the Hornets to their second straight MIAA Championship game as an eighth seed, she won her first MIAA Tournament Championship as a head coach in 2018. The Hornets became the first eighth seed to win the MIAA Tournament Championship, going 4-1 in the tournament.
SUCCESS IN MAY
Emporia State has played in 13 NCAA Tournaments with a 37-26 (.587) 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 nine titles. Since 2001 the Hornets are 57-19 (.750) in MIAA Tournament play with a 56-15 (.789) record over the last 15 tournaments.
