HORNET BASEBALL RETURNS TO TRUSLER FOR THREE GAME SET AGAINST NEWMAN

Baseball | 4/7/2022 2:59:00 PM

Emporia State Hornets (12-22, 6-14 MIAA)
vs. Newman Jets (18-15, 8-12 MIAA)
Friday, Apr. 8 • 6:00 p.m. • Glennen Field • Emporia, Kan.
Saturday, Apr. 9 • 2:00 p.m. • Glennen Field • Emporia, Kan.
Sunday, Apr. 10 • 1:00 p.m. • Glennen Field • Emporia, Kan.
Series Record: ESU leads 56-20 Last Meeting: NU 9, ESU 8 (4/3/21)
Video: The MIAA Network Live Stats: esuhornets.com
Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: Pittsburg State • Apr. 12, 2022
Glennen Field • Emporia, Kan.

READY FOR TAKEOFF
Emporia State starts an eight game home stand with a three game series against Newman.

LAST AT BAT
Emporia State scored two runs in the final three innings to tie the game before Northwestern Oklahoma was able to walk off in the bottom of the ninth with a 4-3 victory.

THE COACHES
Seth Wheeler is 70-76 in his fourth season as the Hornets head coach. He is 4-2 against Newman.
Drew Maus is 35-53 in his third season as the head coach at Rogers Newman. He is 1-2 against Emporia State.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
The Hornets are 12-22, 6-14 on the season. Noah Geekie has a team best .356 batting average in 24 games played. He has also appeared in ten games on the mound with two starts. He is 4-1 with a 4.45 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 30.1 innings. Sam Chaput is batting .341 with a team high 29 runs and 10 steals and is second on the team with five home runs. TJ Racherbaumer leads the Hornets with six home runs 23 RBI while batting .326 on the year. Seven Hornets have made at least one start on the mound this year. Jared Kengott is 1-1 with a 3.83 ERA in 10 appearances and seven starts with 31 strike outs.  Jarrett Seaton is 3-3 with a 6.00 ERA and team high 42 strike outs in nine appearances with one out of the bullpen.
SCOUTING THE JETS
Newman is 18-15, 8-12 on the season. The Jets rank top five in the MIAA in both doubles and RBI. Newman is led Tyler Push and Jenner Steele who both rank top ten in the MIAA for batting average, with a .369 and .360 average respectively. Push has nine doubles, four triples, four home runs and an MIAA-leading 26 stolen bases. Steele leds the Jets in  doubles, home runs and RBI. On the mound, Newman is led by Asher Finke who has made nine starts and has a 6-1 record on the season. Finke has an ERA of 3.56 and is tied for a team-high 47 strikeouts. Ian Lecki leads the Jets with 17 appearances out of the bullpen and has a 3.00 ERA in 21.0 innings.

SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series 56-20 and have won 14 of the last 16 match-ups.

LAST TIME AGAINST NU
The Hornets won two of three games last year against the Jets, scoring 53 runs in the process. Emporia State had 32 hits on the way to a 21-16 win in game one. The Hornets had 19 hits and took advantage of five Jet errors in a 24-9 win in game two. Newman scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth to win game three 9-8.

UP NEXT
Emporia State continues the homestand with a midweek game against Pittsburg State on Tuesday, April 12. First pitch from Trusler is set for 6:00 p.m.

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 70-76. 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 34 games this season and reached base in 33 of them. He is batting .341 with 11 doubles, five home runs, 13 RBI and 10 stolen bases. He also has a team-high 29 runs scored and 72 total bases.
Outfielder Noah Geekie (Jr./Strathclair, Manitoba) is batting .356 in 24 games with 20 starts in the field. He is also a pitcher for the Hornets and has a 4-1 record with a 3.63 ERA in 30.1 innings.  
Outfielder Brenden Tauber (Jr./Omaha, NE) has played in 20 games for the Hornets while making 15 starts. He has one home run, four RBI and has scored nine runs.
Outfielder Quinn Cherry (Sr./Pawley's Island, SC) has started 12 games for Emporia State and has made 19 appearances overall. He leads the Hornets in pinch hit at bats with six with a two run homer as a pinch hitter.

AROUND THE HORN
First Baseman Chandler Bloomer (Jr./Ottawa, KS) has played in 30 of 34 games for the Hornets. He is batting .202 with an on-base percentage of .318 with one home run and 16 RBI. He has also crossed the plate for 14 runs this season.
Second Basemen Blake Carroll (Sr./Wichita, KS) has been a staple in the top of the order, batting .288 with a .349 on base percentage, seven doubles, four home runs and 21 RBI while starting all 34 games. Carroll has played multiple positions for the Hornets since arriving in Emporia including both middle infield spots and center field. In 2021, he was named 2nd Team All-MIAA as a utility player.
Shortstop Kase Johnson (So./Iowa Park, TX) has played in 23 games for the Hornets this season and is batting .183 with seven extra-base hits including two home runs with six RBI.
Third Basemen Kadyn Williams (Fr./Emporia, KS) has started 33 of 34 games this season for the Hornets. He is batting .250 with a .321 on-base percentage. Williams has four doubles, two home runs and 16 RBI on the season while recording 15 runs.

BEHIND THE PLATE
Catcher TJ Racherbaumer (Fr./Hermann, MO) is batting .326 on the year in 30 games with an on-base percentage of .448 to lead the Hornets. He has six home runs and 23 RBI with nine doubles.
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 nine games for the Hornets with eight starts. He is 3-3 with a 6.00 ERA in 39.0 innings with 42 strikeouts on the season.
Right-handed pitcher Jared Kengott (Sr./Addison, TX) has made 10 appearances with three out of the bullpen. He has a 3.83 ERA in 42.1 innings. He has 31 strikeouts.
Right-handed pitcher Aaron Bechtel (Gr./Wichita, KS) has started eight games for the Hornets and made his first relief appearance of the season against Rogers State. Bechtel has 42 strikeouts while only allowing eight walks in 41.0 innings. The Hornets have been shut out in four of his starts.
Left-handed pitcher Peyton Carson (Jr./Topeka, KS) has five starts among his 12 appearances.  He is 1-5 with a 6.49 ERA.
Right-handed pitcher Carl Aikman (So./Topeka, KS) has a team high four saves in 124appearances out of the bullpen.

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.