KEY MIAA SERIES COMING UP FOR EMPORIA STATE BASEBALL AT MISSOURI WESTERN

Baseball | 4/21/2022 7:39:00 PM

Emporia State Hornets (18-25, 10-17 MIAA)
at Missouri Western (11-28, 7-20 MIAA)
Friday, Apr. 22 • 4:00 p.m. • Griffon Baseball Field • St. Joseph, Mo.
Saturday, Apr. 23 • 1:00 p.m. • Griffon Baseball Field • St. Joseph, Mo.
Sunday, Apr. 24 • 1:00 p.m. • Griffon Baseball Field • St. Joseph, Mo.
Series Record: ESU leads 109-51 Last Meeting: MWSU 19, ESU 4 (4/18/21)
Video: The MIAA Network Live Stats: esuhornets.com
Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: Oklahoma Baptist • Apr. 26, 2022
Emporia, Kan.

PONY EXPRESS ROUTE
Emporia State travels to St. Joseph, Missouri for an important three-game series against Missouri Western

LAST AT BAT
Emporia State took on Northwestern Oklahoma and Rockhurst in a pair of midweek matchups. An Austin Hamm walk-off lifted the Hornets over Northwestern Oklahoma before the Hornets run-ruled Rockhurst 10-0.

THE COACHES
Seth Wheeler is 76-79 in his fourth season as the Hornets head coach. He is 5-3 against Missouri Western.
Buzz Verduzco is 612-510 in his 23rd season at Missouri Western. He is 32-54 against the Hornets.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
The Hornets are 18-25, 10-17 in the MIAA. Sam Chaput has a team best .343 batting average and a team-high 13 doubles with six home runs and 24 RBI. TJ Racherbaumer leads the Hornets with eight home runs and 34 RBI while batting .338 on the year. Noah Geekie is batting .330 with three doubles, two triples, one home run and 13 RBI. He also is 5-2 with a 4.60 ERA on the mound. Seven Hornets have made at least one start on the mound this year. Jared Kengott is 2-1 with a 3.81 ERA in 12 appearances and nine starts. Jarrett Seaton is 3-4 with 47 strike outs in 11 appearances and 10 starts. Aaron Bechtel has 8.2 innings in relief with one run allowed after going 1-7 in eight starts.

SCOUTING THE GRIFFONS
Missouri Western is 11-28 and 7-20 in the MIAA. The Griffons offense is led by a trio of hitters with averages above .300. Alex Crouch leads the team in several categories including average, hits, doubles, home runs and RBI. He is tied for fourth in the MIAA with 15 home runs  and also ranks top ten in OPS and slugging percentage. Jared Munk and Hunter Rumachick are each batting .313 on the season. On the mound, Jordan Akins has made 10 starts for the Griffons and has a team-high 50.0 innings pitched and 41 strikeouts. Four Griffons have made double-digit appearances out of the bullpen with David Steffen leading the way with 17 appearances and 26.1 total innings.

SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series 109-51.The two teams have split the last 10 matchups.

LAST TIME AGAINST MWSU
Last season, Emporia State took the first game of the series 5-1 over Missouri Western. The Hornets were unable to contain the Griffon offense in the final two games of the series as the Griffons took the series 2-1.

UP NEXT
Emporia State will return home for the final home game of the season in a midweek match-up against Oklahoma Baptist. The Hornets will the travel to Edmond, Okla. for the final MIAA series of the season against Central Oklahoma from April 29-May 1.

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 76-79. 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 43 games this season and reached base in 41 of them. He is batting .343 with 13 doubles, six home runs, 24 RBI and 11 stolen bases. He also has a team-high 93 total bases.
Outfielder Noah Geekie (Jr./Strathclair, Manitoba) is batting .330 in 30 games with 26 starts in the field. He is hitting .385 with runners in scoring position and has a .348 average with runners on base. He is the one of the toughest players to strikeout in the MIAA with one strikeout every 9.6 at bats. He is also a pitcher and is 5-2 record with a 4.60 ERA in 45.0 innings.  
Outfielder Blake Carroll (Sr./Wichita, KS) is batting .304 with a .358 on base percentage, nine doubles, four triples, five home runs and 26 RBI while starting all 43 games. He was named Second-Team All-MIAA as a utility player last year. He ranks fourth all-time at Emporia State with 13 triples.
Outfielder Quinn Cherry (Sr./Pawley's Island, SC) has started 14 games for Emporia State and has made 24 appearances overall. He leads the Hornets in pinch hit at bats with eight with two home runs as a pinch hitter and three on the season.
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 .228 with 22 runs, 14 RBI and 12 stolen bases in 27 games.

AROUND THE HORN
First Baseman Chandler Bloomer (Jr./Ottawa, KS) has played in 39 of 43 games for the Hornets. He is batting .225 with an on-base percentage of .372 while being top ten in the MIAA in walks. Bloomer has one home run and 21 RBI while crossing the plate for 25 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 13 games at second base for the Hornets and has eight RBI and seven runs scored. He was a home run away from the cycle in the series finale game against Newman.
Shortstop Dylan Werries (Jr./McPherson, KS) has played in 33 games for the Hornets this season and is batting .280 with two home runs including a walk-off grand slam in the final midweek matchup against Pittsburg State. Werries also has 11 doubles and 17 RBI. He has reached base safely in 18 of the last 19 games he has played in.
Third Basemen Kadyn Williams (Fr./Emporia, KS) has started 42 of 43 games this season for the Hornets. He is batting .243 with a .316 on-base percentage. Williams has five doubles, five home runs and 26 RBI on the season while recording 19 runs.

BEHIND THE PLATE
Catcher TJ Racherbaumer (Fr./Hermann, MO) is batting .338 on the year in 39 games with an on-base percentage of .449 to lead the Hornets. He has eight home runs and 34 RBI with 12 doubles. He had two home runs and eight RBI in one game against Newman, the most RBI by a Hornet in a single game since Keith Hernandez did it against Washburn on May 2, 2008.

ON THE MOUND
Left-handed pitcher Jarrett Seaton (Sr./Omaha, NE) has appeared in 11 games for the Hornets with 10 starts. He is 3-4 with a 7.04 ERA in 46.0 innings with 47 strikeouts on the season.
Right-handed pitcher Jared Kengott (Sr./Addison, TX) has made 12 appearances with three out of the bullpen. He has a 3.81 ERA in 52.0 innings. He has 40 strikeouts on the season and two games with seven strikeouts.
Right-handed pitcher Noah Geekie (Jr./Strathclair, Manitoba) is 5-2 with a 4.60 ERA. He has thrown 45.0 innings in 12 appearances with four starts with 53 strikeouts and just 14 walks.
Right-handed pitcher Aaron Bechtel (Gr./Wichita, KS) has started eight games for the Hornets and has made six relief appearances over the past two weeks. In his relief appearances, Bechtel has recorded 14 strikeouts in 8.2 innings with only one walk. Overall Bechtel has 52 strikeouts on the season while only allowing nine walks in 46.2 innings. His strikeout to walk ratio of 5.78 is second in the MIAA and 31st in the nation. The Hornets were shut out in four of his eighth starts.
Left-handed pitcher Peyton Carson (Jr./Topeka, KS) has six starts among his 15 appearances.  He is 1-5 with a 6.82 ERA in 31.2 innings.
Right-handed pitcher Chandler Ashby (So./Kansas City, MO) is tied for the most appearances on the season for Emporia State with 16 including one start.
Right-handed pitcher Carl Aikman (So./Topeka, KS) has a team high four saves and also has 16 appearances.
Right-handed pitcher Cade Barton (Fr./Omaha, NE) has pitched in 33.2 innings during 13 appearances with five starts. He tossed a 7.0 inning complete game one hit shutout against Rockhurst with 10 strikeouts. He retired the final 19 batters he faced.

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.