ARKANSAS TRIP CONTINUES FOR EMPORIA STATE SOFTBALL AT ALVY EARLY CLASSIC

Softball | 2/10/2022 8:45:00 PM

Emporia State Hornets (3-2, 0-0 MIAA)
vs. Harding Bisons (3-2, 0-0 GAC)
Friday, Feb. 11 • 11:00 a.m. • Bentonville, Ark.
Series Record: Series tied 3-3 • Last Meeting: ESU 9, HU 1 (2/16/20)
vs. Ark.-Monticello Blossoms (1-3, 0-0 GAC)
Friday, Feb. 11 • 1:00 p.m. • Bentonville, Ark.
Series Record: ESU leads 4-2 • Last Meeting:  ESU 7, UAM 5 (2/6/22)
vs. Southeastern Oklahoma Savage Storm (2-4, 0-0 GAC)
Saturday, Feb. 12 • 11:00 a.m. • Bentonville, Ark.
Series Record: SEO leads 9-6 • Last Meeting: SEO 12, ESU 5 (2/5/17)
vs. William Jewell Cardinals (0-0, 0-0 GLVC)
Saturday, Feb. 12 • 1:00 p.m. • Bentonville, Ark.
Series Record: ESU leads 6-5 • Last Meeting: WJC 4, ESU 2 (3/10/20)
vs. #1 UT-Tyler Patriots (0-0, 0-0 Lone Star)
Sunday, Feb. 13 • 11:00 a.m. • Bentonville, Ark.
Series Record: First Meeting • Last Meeting: First Meeting
vs. Upper Iowa Peacocks (0-0, 0-0 NSIC)
Sunday, Feb. 13 • 1:00 p.m. • Bentonville, Ark.
Series Record: ESU leads 1-0 • Last Meeting: ESU 4, UIU 0 (3/20/15)
Up Next: vs Quincy • Friday, Feb. 18, 2022 • 2:30 p.m.
Emporia, Kan. • Trusler Sports Complex

GETTING STARTED
Emporia State continues their season-opening 11 game road trip to Arkansas as they compete in the Alvy Early Classic in Bentonville, Ark.

LAST AT BAT
On opening weekend, Emporia State went 3-2 at the Hawkins/McGhee Memorial Tournament in Arkadelphia, Ark. The Hornets took home wins over Ouachita Baptist, Henderson State and Ark.-Monticello.

THE COACHES
April Huddleston-Rosales is 153-151 in her seventh year as the head coach at Emporia State.
Ashley Reeves is 37-14 in her second year as head coach at Harding.
Kyle Lem is 52-65 in his fourth year at Arkansas-Monticello.
Ron Faubion is 826-410 in his 23rd year at Southeastern Oklahoma.
Dustin Combs is 384-335 in his 16th year at William Jewell.
Mike Reed is 645-128 in his 18th season at Texas-Tyler.
Kiki Stokes is in her first season as the head coach of Upper Iowa.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
The Hornets are 3-2 on the season. Through opening weekend, the Hornet offense has been led by Brittanie Shepherd, Maddy Broxterman and Alexis Dial who all post batting averages over .500 including Shepherd who is batting .750 through five games. Sydney Righi has posted a 1.80 ERA while only allowing a .140 batting average against.

ABOUT THE FIELD
Harding is 3-2 on the year with a win over #15 Okla. Christian and losses to #1 UT-Tyler and #22 TAMU-Commerce.
Ark-Monticello went 1-3 last weekend with a loss to Emporia State.
Southeastern Okla.is 2-4 with three of the losses to nationally ranked teams.
UT-Tyler is 5-0 on the season and ranked #1 in the nation. They have wins over nationally ranked UCO and UCM from the MIAA.
William Jewell, and Upper Iowa have yet to play this season.  

ON DECK
The Hornets will play host to the ESU Classic at the Trusler Sports Complex from Feb. 18-20.

IN THE DUGOUT
April Rosales is in her seventh season leading the Emporia State softball program. Through the opening weekend of the 2022 season, her record as head coach is 153-151. Since taking over the program in 2016, Rosales has led the Hornets to an MIAA Tournament Championship, two MIAA Tournament title game appearances, and an appearance in the NCAA Central Sub-Regional Championship.
Rosales was also a member of Emporia State softball during her playing days which included an run to the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2008 which resulted in a National Runner-Up finish. During the 2008 season, she hit .324 with 30 RBI while playing nearly every game at shortstop for the Hornets. She was named First Team All-MIAA that season.

AROUND THE DIAMOND
First Basemen Brylie Bassett (Sr./Oskaloosa, KS) is in her senior season with the Hornets. She appeared in 24 games last season. While Bassett has appeared mostly as a pinch hitter when playing in the field, much of her experience actually comes from relief appearances in the circle. In 2021, she appeared in eight games, seven of them beinf relief appearances and tallied seven strikeouts in 14.0 innings pitched.
Second Basemen Roni Raines (Jr./Topeka, KS) is in her junior season with the Hornets. In 2021, Raines appeared in 41 out of 44 games. She has played multiple infield positions as well as being the designated player. She recorded a .318 batting average while tallying five doubles, three home runs and leading the team with 24 RBI and 13 HBP.
Shortstop Abbey Ward (Jr./Olathe, KS) is one of four players and one of three that are returning to the Hornets to have started each game in 2021. Ward has been a staple at shortstop since the 2020 season and in 2021 she led Emporia State in multiple categories including plate appearances, walks, triples, total bases, home runs, and stolen bases where she was successful 96.3% (26/27) of the time. She also tallied 17 RBI and a .457 slugging percentage.
Third Basemen Karly Johnson (So./Lawrence, KS) had 16 appearances in her freshman season in 2021. Through opening weekend of 2022, Johnson has started four out of five games at third base. In the 13-1 victory over Henderson State, Johnson twice record 2 RBI singles to bolster the Hornet lead. She has also recorded a stolen base.

OUT IN THE FIELD
Outfielder Alexis Dial (So./Topeka, KS) appeared in 35 games as a freshman in 2021 where she recorded seven hits and five walks in 37 plate appearances. She also swiped six stolen bases in seven attempts. In the opening weekend, Dial was dialed in as she recorded a .538 AVG with two doubles, one triple and four RBI. She also recorded a 1.417 OPS and .846 slugging percentage.
Outfielder Brittanie Shepherd (Sr./Kansas City, MO) started in each game of her junior campaign during the 2021 season. Shepherd saw her batting average climb from the previous years to .286 and she also recorded seven doubles, a triple, and 13 RBI. She was also successful on all four of her stolen base attempts.
Outfielder Emma Furnish (So./Goddard, KS) is the third returning Hornet to have started in all 44 games in 2021. The right fielder recorded a .451 slugging percentage with eight doubles, 3 triples and a pair of home runs while tallying 20 RBI. In addition to her presence at the plate, Furnish also recorded seven stolen bases and eight outfield assists.

IN THE CIRCLE
Pitcher Sydney Righi (Jr./Blue Springs, MO) started nine games from the circle and made one relief appearance for the Hornets in 2021 while recording 37.1 innings. During opening weekend, Righi started two games and has a 1.80 ERA in 11.2 innings pitched.
Pitcher Josie Harrison (Jr./St. Mary's, KS) pitched in 12 games during the 2021 season and had a 4-4 record with an ERA of 4.05. She tallied 55.1 innings pitched and struck out 35 batters. In her two appearances during opening weekend she tallied 7.1 innings pitched and recorded a 3.82 ERA with five strikeouts.
Pitcher Gracie Rabe (Fr./Rossville, KS) appeared in two games in her first weekend as a Hornet. She pitched 5.2 scoreless innings allowing only three hits in 22 at-bats faced.
Pitcher Harley Sturm (Fr./Tecumseh, OK) is another freshman presence in the circle for Emporia State. During opening weekend, Sturm made one scoreless relief appearance that lasted 5.1 innings allowing only three hits.