Baseball | 2/16/2023 1:27:00 PM
Emporia State Hornets (3-4, 0-0 MIAA)
vs. Augustana Vikings (1-4, 0-0 NSIC)
Saturday, Feb. 18 • 12:00 p.m. (DH) • Rock Creek HS • St. George, Kan.
Sunday, Feb. 19 • 12:00 p.m.(DH) • Rock Creek HS • St. George, Kan.
Series Record: ESU leads 5-3
Last Meeting: ESU 7, AU 3 (2/23/20)
Video: The MIAA Network
Live Stats: esuhornets.com
Up Next: at Northwestern Oklahoma • Feb. 21
Alva, Okla.
HOME AWAY FROM HOME
Emporia State will meet their second consecutive Northern Sun opponent as they take on Augustana from Rock Creek HS due to infield turf at Glennen Field being replaced.
LAST AT BAT
Emporia State concluded their series against Minot State on Super Bowl Sunday. The Hornets entered the bottom of the ninth trailing 6-3 before rallying to score three runs and force extra innings. In the bottom of the tenth, an infield chopper from
Mason Sturdy forced an error as the Hornets took the final game of the series 7-6 over Minot State.
THE COACHES
Seth Wheeler is in his fifth season as the Hornets head coach. He is 82-89 through four-plus seasons at the helm.
Tim Huber is 501-239-1 in his 15th season at Augustana.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
The Hornets are 3-4 through the first two weekends of the season.Through the first seven games, three Hornet hitters,
Jake Bucovetsky,
Andrew Rantz and
Gibrian Pena, have totaled an OPS above 1.000. Bucovetsky leads the Hornets with a 1.175 OPS and .333 batting average and is joined above .300 at the plate by
Noah Geekie who is hitting .313 for Emporia State. On the mound, Geekie has pitched 10.0 innings with a 1.80 ERA with 13 strikeouts and just four walks while
Cade Barton has also pitched 10.0 innings with 11 strikeouts in his two starts. In the bullpen,
Greg Ross and
Ian Lanik have appeared in four and three games respectively with Ross tallying a pair of saves on the season.
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
Augustana entered the 2023 season ranked 15th in the NCBWA preseason poll following a 47-13-1 season in 2022. The Vikings defeated Central Missouri in the Central Regional before falling to Southern Arkansas in the NCAA Super Regional. This season, the Vikings went 1-4 in a five-game road series against Hawaii-Hilo. Augustana was picked second in the NSIC Coaches Preseason Poll, just behind Minnesota State. Ryan Jares was tabbed as the NSIC Preseason Pitcher of the Year abd as a NCBWA Preseason All-American following the 2022 season where he tallied a 2.78 ERA as he went 8-2 with 81.0 innings pitched. Through their first five games, the Vikings have four hitters who have posted a .300 average or better with Jack Hines leading the way as he is batting .400. Hines also has recorded a team-high 3 RBI through the opening series.
SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series between the two teams 5-3 with the last meeting coming in 2020 season before the COVID shutdown. The Hornets and Vikings split the four-game series with Emporia State taking the series finale 7-3 from Glennen Field.
UP NEXT
Emporia State will travel to the Sooner State for a midweek matchup against Northwestern Oklahoma on Tuesday, Feb. 21 before opening MIAA play against Northeastern State on Feb. 24-26.
WHEELS ON THE BUS
Seth Wheeler is in his fifth season at the helm of the Hornet Baseball program. Wheeler has a career record of 82-89. 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 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 all three 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
Noah Geekie (Sr./Strathclair, Manitoba) is batting .313 this season with an on-base percentage of .421, which ranks second on the Hornets. He has tallied three RBI and four runs scored. In addition to his play in the field and at the plate, Geekie plays a role on the mound for the Hornets as he has pitched 10.0 innings in two starts this season.
Oufielder
Gibrian Pena (So./Odessa, Texas) has started all seven games for the Hornets with five being in the left field. Pena is batting .269 with a 1.021 OPS as he is tied for the team-high with three home runs and leads the Hornets with ten RBI.
Outfielder
Quinton Carlberg (So./Lee's Summit, Mo.) has started all seven games for the Hornets in right field and holds .367 OBP with one double, one triple, one RBI and four runs scored.
AROUND THE HORN
First Baseman
Chandler Bloomer (Sr./Ottawa, KS) has played in six games this season, while making five starts at first base. Bloomer has drawn four walks and holds a .250 OBP after posting a .365 OBP last season.
Second Basemen
Kase Johnson (Jr./Iowa Park, Texas) has played in four games and made a trio of starts at second base for the Hornets. Last season, Johnson played in 23 games as he tallied two home runs, five doubles and six RBI.
Second Basemen
Mason Sturdy (So./Wamego, KS) has played in three games for the Hornets and made a pair of starts at second base. In the last game out, Sturdy hit a chopper up the middle that forced an errant throw to give the Hornets the 7-6 walk-off win over Minot State in the series finale.
Infielder
Kadyn Williams (So./Emporia, KS) has played in six games and made four starts at three different positions for the Hornets. Williams holds a .421 OBP with three RBI on season.
Shortstop
Andrew Rantz (Fr./Topeka, Kan.) has started all seven games at shortstop for the Hornets and is hitting .276 with an OBP of 1.034 which ranks second on the teams. Rantz has three home runs, three doubles and eight RBI for the Hornets.
Third Baseman
Palmer Hutchison (So./Hays, Kan.) has played in all seven games for the Hornets and made six starts. Hutchison holds a .333 OBP and three RBI on the season. He has one home run on the season which came against Southwestern Oklahoma State as he went 3-4 and scored three runs.
Designated Hitter
Jake Bucovetsky (So./Toronto, Ontario) has started all seven games for Emporia State in the designated hitter role and has a team-high .333 batting average and 1.175 OPS. Bucovetsky has two home runs, two RBI and three doubles on the season for the Hornets.
BEHIND THE PLATE
Catcher
TJ Racherbaumer (So./Hermann, MO) has started all seven games for the Hornets behind the plate and has one home run, one double, five RBI and three runs scored. Last season, during his freshman campaign, Racherbaumer posted a .362 batting average along with a .456 on-base and .675 slugging percentage. He tallied 10 home runs, 41 RBI and 17 doubles as he earned MIAA Freshman of the Year honors.
ON THE MOUND
Left-handed pitcher
Graham Brunner (Jr./Sherwood Park, Alberta) transferred to Emporia State from Illinois State and has started two games for the Hornets. Brunner has tallied 7.0 innings pitched with seven hits allowed and five strikeouts.
Right-handed pitcher
Cade Barton (So./Omaha, Neb.) has started a pair of games for the Hornets this season and has totaled 10.0 innings pitched across his two starts. In his ten innings, Barton has recorded 11 strikeouts while allowing just two walks.
Right-handed pitcher
Noah Geekie (Sr./Strathclair, Manitoba) has taken the mound for two starts for the Hornets this season. Geekie has tallied 10.0 innings pitched and allowed just two runs while striking out 13 batters and walking just four. He is posting a 1.80 ERA and is allowing opposing hitters to hit just .167 when he is on the mound.
Right-handed pitcher
Grant Huffman (Fr./Lee's Summit, Mo.) has appeared in two games for the Hornets this season, with both appearances coming in the bullpen. Huffman has pitched 3.2 innings and allowed just one run on two hits through his two appearances.
Right-handed pitcher
Braden Meek (Jr./Enid, OK) has appeared in four games for the Hornets with 2.1 innings pitched while recording three strikeouts. Last season, Meek appeared in 19 games, totaling 28.1 innings pitched as he recorded 23 strikeouts and allowed just seven walks.
Right-handed pitcher
Ian Lanik (So./Eagle, Neb.) has made three appearances for the Hornets this season, with his latest being a start against Minot State in the series finale. Lanik has pitched 9.1 innings this season and has a 1-1 record. He has struck out 10 batters while allowing just three walks and is only allowing a .156 batting average against.
Right-handed pitcher
Greg Ross (So./Sarnia, Ontario) has made four bullpen appearances for Emporia State this season, with two resulting in a save. Across his four appearances, he has pitched 8.0 innings and has recorded 15 strikeouts and allowed just three walks. Ross has allowed just three extra-base hits and is limiting opponents to a .258 batting average.
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.
