HORNET BASEBALL HEADS WEST THIS WEEKEND

Baseball | 3/4/2022 9:55:00 AM

Emporia State Hornets (5-10, 0-4 MIAA)
at Fort Hays State Tigers (1-14, 0-3 MIAA)
Friday, Mar. 4 • 3:00 p.m. • Hays, Kan.
Saturday, Mar. 5 • 1:00 p.m. • Hays, Kan
Sunday, Mar. 6 • 1:00 p.m. • Hays, Kan.
Series Record: ESU leads 149-66 Last Meeting: ESU 13, FHSU 3 (5/1/21)
Live Stats • The MIAA Network • Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: Southwestern Okla. • Mar. 8, 2022
Enid, Okla.

WEST FOR THE WEEKEND
Emporia State will travel west for their first MIAA road series of the season as they are set to take on Fort Hays State.

LAST AT BAT
The Hornets played four games in four days as they played  host to Northeastern State in a three-game slate before traveling up the turnpike for single game against Washburn. The Hornets fought from behind against the Riverhawks before ultimatley being swept in the series. In the single game against the Ichabods, the Hornets were unable to contain to Washburn bats as they fell 12-2.

THE COACHES
Seth Wheeler is in his fourth season as the Hornets head coach and enters with a 62-65 record through three seasons. He is 5-1 against Fort Hays State.
Jerod Goodale is 26-93  in his fourth season as the head coach at Fort Hays State. He is 1-5 against Emporia State.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
The Hornets are 5-10 on the season. The Hornet offense is led by seniors Sam Chaput and Blake Carroll. Chaput is batting .370 with a .469 on-base percentage. Carroll is close behind with a .321 batting average and an on-base percentage of .377. Freshman Kadyn Williams has emerged for the Hornets with a .288 average. Lukas Rich leads the offense with 11 RBI, including 5 in the series finale against MSU Denver.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Fort Hays State is 1-14 on the season. The Tiger offense is led by a trio of hitters in Jenner Kehe, Ed Scott, and Grant Schmidt who all post batting average above .320. Schmidt has posted the power numbers with five doubles, a triple and four home runs with 16 RBI and a .642 slugging percentage. On the mound,  Sammy Sanchez is a name to watch for the Tigers. He has appeared in four games while making three starts and has record 24 strikeouts 22.1 innings of work.

SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series 149-66.

LAST TIME AGAINST FHSU
Last season, Emporia State hosted Fort Hays State in the final home series of the season for the Hornets. Emporia State was able to take a sweep over the Tigers including a pair of 13-3 victory in both games of a Saturday doubleheader.

UP NEXT
Emporia State will travel to Enid, Okla. for a single game non-conference matchup against Southwestern Oklahoma before traveling to Warrensburg for an MIAA series against Central Missouri March 11-13.

WHEELS ON THE BUS
Seth Wheeler is in his fourth season at the helm of the Hornet Baseball program. Through opening weekend, Wheeler has a career record of 62-65. Before taking over as the head coach of Emporia State, Wheeler spent the previous three seasons as the pitching coach at Emporia State. During this time, the Hornet pitching staff held the second lowest ERA in the MIAA. The success has continued since taking over as ESU has ranked top-five in two of his first three seasons in ERA. While the 2020 season was cut short, Emporia State has reached the MIAA tournament in both of Wheeler's full seasons at the helm.
A 2014 graduate of Central Missouri, Wheeler was an honorable mention All-MIAA selection at catcher for the Mules.  He hit .324 as UCM won the MIAA Regular Season Championship his senior year.  He played two years at Butler CC, earning All-Jayhawk Conference honors as a sophomore.

AROUND THE HORN
First Baseman Chanler Bloomer (Jr./Ottawa, KS) has played in 13 of 15 games for the Hornets so far this season. He is batting .195 with 1 HR and 7 RBI. He has also third on the team with 7 runs scored.
Second Basemen Kase Johnson (So./Iowa Park, TX) transferred from Seward County Community College where he played two seasons. He has played in 7 games for the Hornets this season and is batting .158 with a pair of extra-base hits including a clutch two-run home run against MSU Denver.
Shortstop Dylan Werries (Jr./McPherson, KS) has started all 13 of 15 games at shortstop for the Hornets this season. He has recorded 4 doubles and 3 RBI. He has recorded a .318 on-base percentage through the first 15 games.
Third Basemen Kadyn Williams (Fr./Emporia, KS) is in his first season with the Hornets. He has started all 15 games this far for the Hornets. He is batting .288 with 6 RBI and has recorded 7 runs.  

OUT IN THE FIELD
Outfielder Javier Pena (Sr./Kansas City/KS) has started in 9 games for Emporia State and has made 10 appearances overall. He has recorded a .361 on-base percentage while driving in four runs. He also has scored 7 runs and leads the team with 5 stolen bases.
Outfielder Blake Carroll (Sr./Wichita, KS) has played multiple positons for the Hornets since arriving in Emporia including both middle infield spots and centerfield. In 2021, he was named 2nd Team All-Miaa as a utility player. This season, Carroll has been a staple in the second spot in the order, batting .321 with 5 doubles and 9 RBI while starting all 15 games for Emporia State.
Outfielder Sam Chaput (Sr./Boisbriand, Quebec) played in all but one game for the Hornets in 2021 batting .334 with 7 doubles and 3 home runs. He also tallied 26 RBI and stole 10 bases. has started all 11 games for the Hornets from right field and from the leadoff spot in the order. Chaput is batting .370 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI. He also has recorded 4 doubles and a team-high 16 runs on the season.

ON THE MOUND
Right-handed pitcher Aaron Bechtel (Gr./Wichita, KS) spent the previous two seasons at Wichita State. So far this season Bechtel has started 4 games for the Hornets with a 4.95 ERA in 20.0 innings of work. He has 22 strikeouts while only allowing 3 walks this season.
Right-handed pitcher Jared Kengott (Sr./Addison, TX) has made 5 appearances so far this season including 2 out of the bullpen. He has a 4.38 ERA in 12.1 innings. He has 14 strikeouts for a K/9 of 10.4.
Left-handed pitcher Jarrett Seaton (Sr./Omaha, NE) has appeared in 4 games for the Hornets with three being as a starting pitcher. Seaton has recorded 17.1 innings with 25 strikeouts and allowing only 7 walks with an ERA of 4.67

HISTORY
Emporia State has advanced to the NCAA Tournament 14 times in the program's history. The Hornets have captured the regular season MIAA championship on six different occasions and have won MIAA Tournament title twice. The most recent regular season championship came in 2017 when they finished the season with a 42-19 record after hosting the Central Regional.