Softball | 4/18/2019 9:36:00 AM
Emporia State Hornets (20-21, 10-8 MIAA)
at #2 Central Oklahoma Bronchos (35-3, 17-1 MIAA)
Friday, April 19 • 2:00 p.m. (DH) • Broncho Softball Stadium • Edmond, Okla.
Series Record: UCO leads 29-27 •
Last Meeting: ESU 6, UCO 0 (4/28/18-MIAA Tourney)
Radio: None
Internet Audio: None
Video:
themiaanetwork.com/esuhornets
at Northeastern State RiverHawks (23-20, 11-7 MIAA)
Saturday, April 20 • 12:00 p.m. (DH) • RiverHawks Park • Tahlequah, Okla.
Series Record: ESU leads 26-24 •
Last Meeting: NSU 4, at ESU 3 (3/28/18)
Radio: None
Internet Audio: None
Video:
themiaanetwork.com/esuhornets
Next Up: at William Jewell • Wednesday, April 23, 2019 • 2:00 p.m.
Cardinal Field • Liberty, Mo.
SOONER STATE SHOWDOWNS
Emporia State travels to Oklahoma for a pair of key MIAA double headers beginning on Friday against #2 Central Oklahoma and ending with two against Northeastern State on Saturday.
LAST AT BAT
Emporia State finished the MIAA portion of their schedule undefeated with a double header sweep of Neb.-Kearney. The Hornets walked off to win the matinee 8-7 and then took an 11-4 victory in the nightcap. Pinch runner Grace Moore scored the game winner in the bottom of the seventh on a ground out by Destiny Ojigoh. The Hornets sent nine batters to the plate and scored five runs in the second inning to take control in the night cap.
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THE COACHES
April Huddleston-Rosales is 105-110 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 1-8 against Central Okla. and 2-4 against Northeastern State as a head coach.
Cody White is 239-93 in his sixth year as head coach for the Bronchos. He is 13-6 against Emporia State.
Clay Davis is 185-181 in his seventh year as head coach for the RiverHawks. He is 9-6 against Emporia State.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 20-21, 10-8 in the MIAA and were 12-2 at home this year. As a team the Hornets are batting .276 with a 3.50 team ERA. Hannah Steeby is the only player in the top ten of the MIAA in both home runs and stolen bases. Montana Mesler is third in the MIAA in strikeouts. Â
SCOUTING THE BRONCHOS
Central Oklahoma is 35-3, 17-1 in the MIAA and ranked #2 in the nation. They lead the league with a .351 batting average and 2.21 ERA. JoBi Heath is leading the MIAA in doubles and RBI.
SERIES HISTORY
Central Oklahoma leads the all-time series 29-27 against Emporia State.
LAST AT BAT WITH CENTRAL OKLA.
Emporia State won the 2018 MIAA Tourney with a 6-0 victory over Central Oklahoma.
SCOUTING THE RIVERHAWKS
Northeastern State is 23-20, 11-7 in the MIAA. They are batting .276 with a 3.55 team ERA. Gail Young's 14 wins rank third in the MIAA.
SERIES HISTORY
The Hornets lead the all-time series with the RiverHawks 26-24.
LAST AT BAT WITH NORTHEASTERN ST.
Emporia State took a 4-3, nine inning walk-off win in the opener against Northeastern State then fell 4-3 in the nightcap.
UP NEXT
The Hornets go to William Jewell on Tuesday for a non-conference DH.
HORNETS AT THE BAT
Left fielder Kenzie Garvin (Sr./Lawrence, Kan.) is tenth in the MIAA in stolen bases. She is batting .362 with 21 runs and 12 stolen bases. She had an 11 game hitting streak snapped against Neb.-Kearney, although she missed five games in the middle of it with a knee injury. 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/outfielder Gabby Biondo (So./Belton, Mo.) is third in the MIAA in stolen bases with 18 and is batting .361 with 22 runs and 19 RBI. She has played in 35 games with 30 starts. She is batting .379 in her 30 starts this season. In 2018, she appeared in 28 games.
Right fielder Maddy Broxterman (So/Meriden, Kan.) is batting .196 in 22 games with 20 starts. She has nine runs, a double, a triple, a home run and four RBI on the season.
First base Rachel Kauss (So./Overland Park, Kan.) is hitting .294 on the year with four doubles and 15 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.
Shortstop Hannah Steeby (Jr./St. Joseph, Mo.) is fifth in the MIAA in home runs and stolen bases, the only player in the league to rank in the top ten in both categories, and is also ranked seventh in triples. She has a .331 batting average with a team high 33 runs, eight home runs and 28 RBI. She transferred to Emporia State from Central Methodist where she earned first-team All-American honors from the NFCA and NAIA and was the Heart of America Conference Player of the Year in 2018.
Catcher Cassidy Beem (So./Lamar, Mo.) is 11th in the MIAA with six home runs on the season. She is batting .250 with five doubles, 22 runs scored and 25 RBI in 41 starts. She started in 56 of the 57 games she played in last season and finished the season with 14 runs and 13 RBI.
Second base Destiny Ojigoh (So./Kansas City, Mo.) is batting .252 with 19 runs, four doubles, two home runs and 16 RBI and has started all 41 games this season. 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.
Third base Kailee Odegard (Fr./Blue Springs, Mo.) has a .241 batting average with 14 runs, seven doubles and two triples. She has started in 35 of the 36 games she has played this season.
Center fielder Brittanie Shepherd (Fr./Kansas City, Mo.) has scored 16 runs and has four doubles, a triple and a home run among her 16 hits on the season.
Outfielder/designated player Valerie Kinney (Sr./Bennington, Neb.) is batting .262 in 23 games this year with a .364 average in the 12 games she has come off the bench. She is the only four year player on the roster and has played in 80 games with 46 starts in her career.
Designated player/pitcher, Kelsey Phillips (Jr./Winfield, Kan.) has scored 14 runs and has three homers and 17 RBI at the plate for the Hornets this season. She had two home runs in game two against Missouri Southern. 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
Right-handed pitcher Montana Mesler (So./Topeka, Kan.) is 8-10 with a 3.67 ERA and nine complete games. She is third in the MIAA with 111 strikeouts on the season. She tossed a two-hit shutout with a career high 11 strike outs against Rogers State. It is the most strike outs by a Hornets since 2013. 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.
Right-handed pitcher Sydney Righi (Fr./Blue Springs, Mo.) is 5-5 in 13 starts for the Hornets. She tossed a four hit shutout of Missouri Southern. She has lowered her ERA to 3.69 after going 5-1 with a 1.88 ERA in her last nine appearances. She was 11-5 with a 2.91 ERA at Blue Springs South HS in her senior season.
Right-handed pitcher Kelsey Phillips is 5-3 with two saves, a 3.00 ERA and six starts in 15 games. She is allowing batters to hit just .241 against her to rank second 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.
Right-handed pitcher Brylie Bassett (Fr./Oskaloosa, Kan.) has a 2.88 ERA in 24.1 innings pitched over ten appearances with one start.
Right-handed pitcher Mackenzie Thornton (Jr./Grandfield, Okla.) is 1-2 with 4.31 ERA in five games this season. She was 1-1 with a 7.36 ERA in 13 games last year, including two starts.
THE HORNETS WITH ROSALES
Rosales is in her fourth season as head coach at Emporia State. She holds an 105-110 overall record, 47-45 in the MIAA.She led the Hornets to the 2018 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. In 2017, Rosales made her first appearance in the MIAA Tournament as head coach, finishing second, losing to #1 seed Central Oklahoma in the championship game.
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 12 of the last 15 years and 13 times in the last 23 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. In the 21st Century, Emporia State has claimed the regular season title eight times (2005-08, 2010-12, 2014) and the tournament title nine times (2004-10, 2012, 2018).
