FINAL GAME OF MIDWEEK SERIES AS EMPORIA STATE PLAYS HOST TO PITT STATE

Baseball | 4/11/2022 7:00:00 PM

Emporia State Hornets (14-23, 8-15 MIAA)
vs. Pittsburg State Gorillas (23-12, 17-6 MIAA)
Tuesday, Apr. 12 • 5:00 p.m. • Glennen Field • Emporia, Kan.
Series Record: ESU leads 87-44 Last Meeting: PSU 11, ESU 2 (3/28/22)
Video: The MIAA Network Live Stats: esuhornets.com
Radio: KFFX 104.9 FM Internet Audio: kvoe.com
Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: Washburn • Apr. 14-16, 2022
Glennen Field • Emporia, Kan.

FINAL MIAA MIDWEEK
Emporia State wraps up their three game series with Pittsburg State with a Tuesday night game at Trusler.

LAST AT BAT
Emporia State took two of three from NEwman over the weekend. After falling 9-8 in game one, the Hornet offense came alive for a pair of 16-6 run-rule wins over the Jets.

THE COACHES
Seth Wheeler is 72-77 in his fourth season as the Hornets head coach. He is 5-7 against Pittsburg State
Bob Fornelli is 98-57 in his fourth season at Pittsburg State. He is 1,003-436 in his 26th year as a head coach including a 599-266 record in 15 years at Emporia State.  He is 7-5 against the Hornets at Pittsburg State.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
The Hornets are 14-23, 8-15 on the season. Noah Geekie has a team best .357 batting average. Sam Chaput is batting .351 with 13 doubles and 10 steals and is second on the team with five home runs. TJ Racherbaumer leads the Hornets with eight home runs and 32 RBI while batting .349 on the year. Seven Hornets have made at least one start on the mound this year. Jared Kengott is 1-1 with a 4.20 ERA in 11 appearances and eight starts. Jarrett Seaton is 3-3 with a 6.14 ERA and 45 strike outs in ten appearances with one out of the bullpen. Aaron Bechtel is 1-7 in eight starts but has 6.0 innings in relief with 10 strikeouts.

SCOUTING THE GORILLAS
Pittsburg State is 23-12, 17-6 in the MIAA. The Gorillas lead the MIAA in batting average, runs scored and RBI. Their offense is led by a trio of hitters that post a batting average above .385. Garrett McGowan and Mason Hartman each have .388 average and Jordan Maxson is batting .387. McGowan leads the team with 14 home runs and leads the MIAA with 62 RBI.  Maxson is second on the team with 12 home runs, 38 RBI and 10 doubles. On the mound, eight different pitchers have recorded at least one start for the Gorillas. Peyton Ingalls has a team-high 10 starts and is 5-1 record with a 6.10 ERA. Tanner Lane has 13 appearances and seven in relief. He is 3-3 record with a 5.11 ERA. Out of the bullpen, Zach Nagel has 19 appearances and a 3.73 ERA in 31.1 innings.

SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series 87-44 with the two teams splitting the last four games.

LAST TIME AGAINST PSU
Emporia State took the first lead of the game on a two-run home run by Sam Chaput in the top of the third inning in Pittsburg. The Hornets were unable to cross the plate for the remainder of the game and the Gorillas eventually took the game 11-2.

UP NEXT
Emporia State will stay home as they take on Washburn in the Turnpike Tussle on April 14-16 in the final weekend series at Trusler this season.

WHEELS ON THE BUS
Seth Wheeler is in his fourth season at the helm of the Hornet Baseball program. Wheeler has a career record of 72-77. 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.

OUT IN THE FIELD
Outfielder Sam Chaput (Sr./Boisbriand, Quebec) has started all 37 games this season and reached base in 36 of them. He is batting .351 with 13 doubles, five home runs, 19 RBI and 10 stolen bases. He also has a team-high 83 total bases.
Outfielder Noah Geekie (Jr./Strathclair, Manitoba) is batting .357 in 26 games with 22 starts in the field. He is hitting .323 with two outs and has a .455 average with runners on base. He is the third toughest player to strikeout in the MIAA with one strikeout every 12.2 at bats. He is also a pitcher and is 5-1 record with a 5.20 ERA in 36.1 innings.  
Outfielder Blake Carroll (Sr./Wichita, KS) is batting .288 with a .349 on base percentage, seven doubles, four home runs and 21 RBI while starting all 37 games. He was named Second-Team All-MIAA as a utility player last year. He ranks seventh all-time at Emporia State with 11 triples.
Outfielder Quinn Cherry (Sr./Pawley's Island, SC) has started 12 games for Emporia State and has made 20 appearances overall. He leads the Hornets in pinch hit at bats with seven with two home runs as a pinch hitter.
Outfielder/DH Javier Pena (Sr./Kansas City, KS) returned to the line up against Rogers State after missing two weeks with an injury. He is batting .262 with 17 runs, 11 RBI and eight stolen bases in 21 games.

AROUND THE HORN
First Baseman Chandler Bloomer (Jr./Ottawa, KS) has played in 31 of 33 games for the Hornets. He is batting .216 with an on-base percentage of .360 with one home run and 19 RBI. He has also crossed the plate for 20 runs this season.
Second Basemen Mason Sturdy (Fr./Wamego, KS) recently had his redshirt pulled before the road series against Rogers State. He has since started all seven games at second base for the Hornets and has five RBI and four runs scored. He was a home run away from the cycle in Sunday's game against Newman.
Shortstop Dylan Werries (Jr./McPherson, KS) has played in 27 games for the Hornets this season and is batting .272 with one home run and nine doubles and 12 RBI for the Hornets. He has reached base safely in the last 13 games he has played in.
Third Basemen Kadyn Williams (Fr./Emporia, KS) has started 36 of 37 games this season for the Hornets. He is batting .248 with a .398 on-base percentage. Williams has four doubles, four home runs and 20 RBI on the season while recording 17 runs.

BEHIND THE PLATE
Catcher TJ Racherbaumer (Fr./Hermann, MO) is batting .349 on the year in 33 games with an on-base percentage of .458 to lead the Hornets. He has eight home runs and 32 RBI with 10 doubles. He had two home runs and eight RBI in Saturday's game against Newman, the most RBI by a Hornet in a single game since Keith Hernandez did it against Washburn on May 2, 2008
Catcher/DH Lukas Rich (Jr./Olathe, KS) is hitting .244 in 26 games with nine of them behind the plate.

ON THE MOUND
Left-handed pitcher Jarrett Seaton (Sr./Omaha, NE) has appeared in 10 games for the Hornets with nine starts. He is 3-3 with a 6.14 ERA in 44.0 innings with 45 strikeouts on the season.
Right-handed pitcher Jared Kengott (Sr./Addison, TX) has made 11 appearances with three out of the bullpen. He has a 4.20 ERA in 45.0 innings. He has 33 strikeouts.
Right-handed pitcher Noah Geekie (Jr./Strathclair, Manitoba) is 5-1 record with a 5.20 ERA. He has thrown 36.1 innings in 11 appearances with three starts with 43 strikeouts and just 12 walks.
Right-handed pitcher Aaron Bechtel (Gr./Wichita, KS) has started eight games for the Hornets and has made his first three relief appearances over the past two weeks. In his relief appearances, Bechtel has recorded 10 strikeouts in 6.0 innings with no walks. Overall Bechtel has 48 strikeouts on the season while only allowing eight walks in 44.0 innings. His strikeout to walk ratio of 6.00 is third in the MIAA and 30th in the nation. The Hornets were shut out in four of his eighth starts.
Left-handed pitcher Peyton Carson (Jr./Topeka, KS) has five starts among his 13 appearances.  He is 1-5 with a 6.67 ERA in 28.1 innings.
Right-handed pitcher Chandler Ashby (So./Kansas City, MO) has the most appearances on the season for Emporia State with 15 including one start.
Right-handed pitcher Carl Aikman (So./Topeka, KS) has a team high four saves in 14 appearances out of the bullpen. '
Right-handed pitcher Cade Barton (Fr./Omaha, NE) has pitched in 24.0 innings during 11 appearances with three starts.

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 occasions and have won MIAA Tournament title twice.