Softball | 3/27/2019 12:55:00 PM
Emporia State Hornets (8-17, 2-4 MIAA)
vs. Pittsburg State (16-15, 4-2 MIAA)
Saturday, March 30, 2019 • 3:00 p.m. • Trusler Sports Complex • Emporia, Kan.
Series Record: ESU leads 75-54
Last Meeting: at PSU 11, ESU 9 (March 9, 2018)
vs. Missouri Southern (11-14, 2-6 MIAA)
Sunday, March 31, 2019 • 12:00 p.m. • Trusler Sports Complex • Emporia, Kan.
Series Record: MSSU leads 41-38 Last Meeting: at MSSU 6, ESU 2 (March 10, 2018)
Live Stats •
Complete Notes in pdf
Next Up: at Newman • Tuesday, April 2, 2019 • 4:00 p.m.
NU Softball Field • Wichita, Kan.
BACK INTO CONFERENCE PLAY
Emporia State returns to MIAA action as they play host to Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern at the Trusler Sports Complex.
LAST AT BAT
Emporia State went 2-2 at the ESU Regional Classic last weekend. They won two games on Thursday, defeating Wayne State (Neb.) 10-5 and taking a 3-1 victory over St. Cloud State. Mackenzie Thornton got the win in relief against the Wildcats in game one and Kelsey Phillips went the distance for the win in game two against the Huskies. The Hornets dropped a pair of one run losses on Friday, falling 2-1 to Minnesota State-Mankato and 6-5 to Concordia-St. Paul. Â
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THE COACHES
April Huddleston-Rosales is 93-106 in her fourth 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 3-4 against Pittsburg State and 4-3 against Missouri Southern.
Ashley Balazs is 38-48 in her second year at Pittsburg State and 54-76 in her third year as a head coach. She is 1-1 against Emporia State.
Hallie Blackney is 11-14 in her first year as head coach at Missouri Southern. This is her first meeting with Emporia State.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 8-17, 2-4 in the MIAA. Kenzie Garvin leads the Hornets with a .360 batting average and is fifth in the MIAA with ten stolen bases. Hannah Steeby has a team high five home runs to rank fifth in the MIAA. Montana Messler is fourth in the MIAA with 63 strikeouts in the circle.
SCOUTING THE GORILLAS
Pittsburg State is 16-15, 4-2 in the MIAA. Kala Holder is second in the MIAA in slugging percentage, fifth in home runs and seventh in runs scored. Halle Brin is third in the MIAA in strike outs and eighth in ERA.
SERIES HISTORY
The Hornets lead the all-time series 75-54.     Â
LAST AT BAT AGAINST PITT STATE
The Hornets split their double header at Pittsburg State last year, winning 8-0 in five innings before falling 11-9 in the nightcap.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
Mo. Southern is 11-14, 2-6 in the MIAA. Lexi Ferrari is seventh in the MIAA in RBI. Abby Atkin is seventh in the MIAA in strikeouts and leads the league in hit batters.
SERIES HISTORY
The Lions lead the all-time series 41-38.
LAST AT BAT AGAINST MO. SOUTHERN
The Hornets and Lions split a double header in Joplin. Emporia State won the matinee 12-4 and fell 6-2 in game two.
UP NEXT
The Hornets travel to Newman on April 2 for a non-conference double header.
HORNETS AT THE BAT
Left fielder, Kenzie Garvin has a .360 batting average with 31 hits and 15 runs this season. She is fifth in the MIAA in stolen bases entering the weekend with ten. She played in 61 games, starting in 60 for the Hornets in 2018. She finished the season with a .301 batting average on 58 hits with 44 runs.
Designated player Gabby Biondo is batting .321 with 12 runs on 17 hits with nine RBI. She has played in 19 games with 14 starts. In 2018, she appeared in 28 games for the Hornets.
Catcher, Cassidy Beem has a team high 16 RBI in 25 starts this season and is hitting .278 with three doubles and three home runs. She started in 56 of the 57 games she played in last season and finished the season with 14 runs and 13 RBI on 20 hits.
Shortstop Hannah Steeby has a .290 batting average with a team high 17 runs and five four home runs with 14 RBI. She is tied for fifth in the MIAA in home runs entering the weekend. She transferred from Central Methodist University. In 2018, she earned first-team All-American honors from the NFCA and NAIA and was the Heart of America Conference Player of the Year.
Second base Destiny Ojigoh is batting .247 with 12 runs, four doubles, a home run and 11 RBI. She played and started in 55 games for the Hornets in 2018. She held a .272 batting average with 18 runs on 40 hits. She tacked on three home runs with 34 RBI.
First base Rachel Kauss is hitting .300 on the year with two doubles and eight RBI. She played in 13 games for the Hornets in 2018. In 16 at bats she had five hits and scored two runs with a .313 batting average.
Third base Kailee Odegard has a .255 batting average with ten runs on 12 hits for the Hornets. She has started in 19 of the 20 games she has played this season.
Outfielder Maddy Broxterman is batting .364 in eight games with six starts. She has one run, one triple and one RBI on the season.
Outfielder Brittanie Shepherd has scored eight runs and has three doubles among her 12 hits on the season.
Designated player/pitcher, Kelsey Phillips has scored nine runs and has ten RBI at the plate for the Hornets this season. She played in 31 games, starting in 25 for the Hornets in 2018. She finished the season with a .394 with 16 runs on 26 hits.
EMPORIA STATE PITCHING
Montana Mesler is 3-9 with six complete games. She has 63 strikeouts entering the weekend to rank fourth in the MIAA. She finished the 2018 season with a 15-13 record in 37 appearances with 31 starts. She threw 20 complete games with a 4.58 era and 124 K's in 198.1 innings.
Kelsey Phillips is 4-3 with a 4.47 ERA in ten games with six starts. She is allowing batters to hit just .253 against her to rank eighth in the MIAA. She finished the 2018 season with a 10-11 record in 30 appearances with 18 starts. She threw nine complete games with a 4.95 era and 54 K's in 125.1 innings.
Mackenzie Thornton is 1-1 with 6.52 ERA in four appearances this season. She was 1-1 with a 7.36 ERA in 13 games last year, including two starts.
Sydney Righi is 0-4 in six starts for the Hornets. She has an ERA of 9.13 through 22.2 innings with nine strikeouts. She was 11-5 with a 2.91 era at Blue Springs South HS in her senior season.
Brylie Bassett has a 1.84 ERA in 14.2 innings pitched over seven relief appearances.
THE HORNETS WITH ROSALES
Rosales is in her fourth season as head coach at Emporia State. She holds an 93-106 overall record, 39-41 in the MIAA after taking over in November of 2015.
In 2018, Rosales led the Hornets to the MIAA Tournament championship and her first trip to the NCAA Central Regional Tournament as head coach. The Hornets finished the regular season on a nine game winning streak and extended that to a 12 game streak in the MIAA Tournament. Emporia State then advanced to the Central Regional championship game before falling to Minnesota-Duluth. Â
In 2017, 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.
In 2016, Rosales led the Hornets to a 21-32 record, 9-17 in the MIAA in her first season as head coach. Prior to the season, she was selected as the tenth head coach for the Hornets and took over the role in November of 2015.
Before accepting the head coaching role, she had served as an assistant coach for the Hornets the previous seven seasons under both coach Kristi Bredbenner and Julie LeMaire after her all-conference playing career at Emporia State.
