Softball | 5/2/2019 11:14:00 PM
Emporia State Hornets (26-27, 14-12 MIAA)
vs.
Central Missouri Jennies (34-20, 17-9 MIAA)
Friday, May 3, 2019 • 12:30 p.m. • Broncho Softball Stadium • Edmond, Okla.
Series Record: ESU leads 61-45 •
Last Meeting: at UCM 3, ESU 2 (8) (April 6, 2019)
Radio: None
Internet Audio: None
Video:
themiaanetwork.com/esuhornets
Live Stats •
Complete Notes in pdf
Next Up: winner vs Northeastern State or Washburn
Friday, May 3 at 5:30 p.m. • Broncho Softball Stadium • Edmond, Okla.
CHAMPIONSHIP TIME
Sixth seeded Emporia State takes on fourth seeded Central Missouri in an elimination game of the MIAA Tournament.
LAST AT BAT
Hannah Steeby had three RBI as Emporia State stayed alive with a 3-2 walk off victory over Pittsburg State. For the second straight game in the tournament, the Hornets fell behind in the first as Pittsburg State scored two runs in the top of the inning. The Hornets got on the board in the bottom of the third when Steeby delivered her second home run in as many days to make it 2-2. Destiny Ojigoh led off the bottom of the seventh with a single. Pinch runner Maddy Broxterman went to second on a wild pitch and took third on a sac bunt. Steeby laced a grounder off Halle Brin in the circle and beat out the throw at first allowing Biondo to score the game winner.
THE COACHES
April Huddleston-Rosales is 111-116 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. She is 9-4 in the MIAA Tournament. She is 4-4 against Central Missouri and this is her first meeting with the Jennies in MIAA Tournament play.
Susan Anderson is 404-298 in her 13th season as head coach for the Jennies. She is 8-26 against Emporia State, and is 0-5 against the Hornets in the MIAA Tournament.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 26-27 overall and finished 14-12 in the MIAA. They are the sixth seed in the MIAA Tournament. As a team the Hornets are batting .283 with a 3.73 team ERA. Hannah Steeby is the only player in the top five of the MIAA with 12 home runs and 23 stolen bases. In the circle Montana Mesler is third in the MIAA with 136 strikeouts.
SCOUTING THE JENNIES
Central Missouri is 34-20 and finished 17-9 in the MIAA. They are the four seed in the MIAA Tournament. As a team the Gorillas are hitting .323 and have a 3.62 team ERA. Lauren Deer is second in the MIAA with 27 stolen bases and ranks fifth with 42 runs scored. Gentry Wishard is fifth in the MIAA with a 2.50 ERA.
SERIES HISTORY
The Hornets lead the all-time series 61-45 with an 8-3 lead in MIAA Tourney play.
LAST AT BAT WITH CENTRAL MISSOURI
Central Missouri took a 2-0 lead in the fourth. Emporia State's Cassidy Beem got an RBI ground out in the sixth and Hannah Steeby tied it in the seventh with an RBI single before the Jennies won it in the eighth. It was the second straight extra inning game between the two.
ON DECK
The winner will take on either Northeastern State or Washburn in an elimination game at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
HORNETS AT THE BAT
Left fielder Kenzie Garvin (Sr./Lawrence, Kan.) was an honorable mention All-MIAA pick in the outfield. She is eighth in the MIAA in stolen bases. She is batting .362 with 30 runs and 16 stolen bases. She is hitting .400 and has four stolen bases over her last nine games. She has hit safely in 15 of 19 games since missing five games with a knee injury. She had an 11 game hitting streak wrapped around the time she missed. 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.) was a second-team All-MIAA pick at designated player. She is third in the MIAA in stolen bases with 26 and eighth with four triples. She is batting .359 with 32 runs and 25 RBI. She is hitting .355 with eight runs scored and six RBI with seven stolen bases in her last nine games. She has played in 45 games with 40 starts. In 2018, she appeared in 28 games last year.
First base Rachel Kauss (So./Overland Park, Kan.) is hitting .281 on the year with five doubles and 17 RBI. She has played and started in 52 games this year. She played in 13 games last year. In 16 at bats she had five hits and scored two runs with a .313 batting average.
Hannah Steeby (Jr./St. Joseph, Mo.) was honorable mention All-MIAA at shortstop. She is third in the MIAA in home runs and runs scored, fourth in stolen bases, sixth in RBI and triples, and is seventh in slugging percentage. She has a .362 batting average with a team high 45 runs, 12 home runs and 45 RBI. She is batting .480 with a double, four homers, 15 RBI and nine runs over the last ten games. She transferred to Emporia State from Central Methodist where she earned first-team NFCA and NAIA All-American honors in 2018.
Outfielder/designated player Valerie Kinney (Sr./Bennington, Neb.) was an honorable mention All-MIAA utility player. She is batting .284 in 34 games this year with a .333 average in the 13 games she has come off the bench. She is hitting .333 in her last ten games with three doubles and four RBI. She is the only four year player on the roster and has played in 91 games with 56 starts in her career.
Cassidy Beem (So./Lamar, Mo.) earned honorable mention All-MIAA at catcher. She is eighth in the MIAA with nine home runs on the season. She is batting .253 with six doubles, a triple, 28 runs scored and 31 RBI in 52 starts. She had three home runs in the double header at Northeastern State. 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 .248 with 20 runs, five doubles, two home runs and 18 RBI. She has started all 51 games she has played in 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 .235 batting average with 19 runs, eight doubles and two triples. She has started in 46 of the 48 games she has played this season.
Center fielder Brittanie Shepherd (Fr./Kansas City, Mo.) is batting .256 and has scored 21 runs with seven doubles, a triple and a home run. She is batting .375 with three doubles, five runs and four RBI over her last nine games.
Right fielder Maddy Broxterman (So/Meriden, Kan.) is batting .176 in 27 games with 23 starts. She has scored ten runs, has a double, a triple, a home run and four RBI on the season.
Designated player/pitcher, Kelsey Phillips (Jr./Winfield, Kan.) has scored 17 runs and has four homers and 20 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 third in the MIAA with 136 strike outs on the season and ninth with 141.1 innings pitched. She is 10-13 with a 3.81 ERA and 12 complete games. 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 Kelsey Phillips (Jr./Winfield, Kan.) ranks third in the MIAA in saves and tenth with a .264 opponents batting average. She is 5-4 with three saves, a 3.25 ERA and nine starts in 20 games. She has a 1.80 ERA in 11 relief appearances with a 2-0 record and three saves out of the bullpen. 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 Sydney Righi (Fr./Blue Springs, Mo.) is 7-7 in 17 starts with a 4.08 ERA. She tossed a four hit shutout of Missouri Southern. She was 11-5 with a 2.91 ERA at Blue Springs South HS in her senior season.
Right-handed pitcher Brylie Bassett (Fr./Oskaloosa, Kan.) is 3-1 and has a 3.54 ERA in 31.2 innings pitched over 14 appearances with one start.
Right-handed pitcher Mackenzie Thornton (Jr./Grandfield, Okla.) is 1-2 with 3.65 ERA in seven 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 111-116 overall record, 51-49 in the MIAA. She is 9-4 in the MIAA Tournament as a head coach with a 6-1 record in elimination games. She led the Hornets to the 2018 MIAA Tournament championship and her first trip to the NCAA Central Regional Tournament as head coach. 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. It was the Hornets first MIAA Tournament championship appearance since 2013.
Before accepting the head coaching role, she had served as an assistant coach for the Hornets the previous seven seasons after her all-conference playing career at Emporia State.
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).
