Baseball | 2/20/2023 6:41:00 PM
Emporia State Hornets (4-7, 0-0 MIAA)
vs. Northwestern Oklahoma Rangers (6-5, 1-2 GAC)
Tuesday, Feb. 21 • 2:00 p.m. • Alva, Okla. • Glass Family Field at Myers Stadium
Series Record: ESU leads 4-1
Last Meeting: ESU 5, NWOSU 4 (10 inn.) (4/18/22)
Live Stats: esuhornets.com
Up Next: at Northeastern State • Feb. 24-26
Tahlequah, Okla. • Rousey Field
SOONER STATE SHOWDOWN
Emporia State will travel south to the Sooner State for their first true road game of the season as they take on Northwestern Oklahoma.
LAST AT BAT
Emporia State concluded their series against Augustana with a doubleheader on Sunday from Rock Creek HS. In game two, the Hornets defeated the Vikings 6-1 as Emporia State hit a trio of home runs as
Jake Bucovetsky,
Quinton Carlberg and Patryck Hernandez each lifted one over the wall.
Ian Lanik took home the win while pitching all seven innings for the Hornets.
THE COACHES
Seth Wheeler is in his fifth season as the Hornets head coach. He is 83-92 through four-plus seasons at the helm.
Ryan Bowen is 112-112 in his sixth season at Northwestern Oklahoma.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
The Hornets are 4-7 this season following back-to-back four-game series' against a pair of preseason top 4 teams from the Northern Sun.
Jake Bucovetsky is hitting .316 this season with a 1.093 OPS to lead the Hornets. Five different Hornets have hit multiple home runs this season with
Andrew Rantz leading the way with four home runs. Bucovetsky,
Gibrian Pena and
Quinton Carlberg each have three home runs of their own. On the mound,
Noah Geekie has pitched 16.0 innings across three starts with a 1.69 ERA.
Ian Lanik has also emerged for the Hornets with a 2.76 ERA across four appearances and two starts. In relief,
Greg Ross has five appearances, the most on the team and has a pair of saves.
SCOUTING THE RANGERS
Northwestern Oklahoma entered the season picked ninth in the GAC Preseason Coaches Poll following a 22-28 season last year. This season, the Rangers are 6-5 including four wins over MIAA foe Northwest Missouri. Northwestern Oklahoma has a trio of hitters hitting at least .300 on the season with Hagen Barcello leading the way as he is hitting .340 this season one home run, four doubles and a team-high 12 RBI. Brandon Holdren and Colby Grace join Barcello as they are batting .303 and .300 respectively. On the mound, Dylan Collins and Garrett DeHaas both have three starts this season with 15.1 and 12.1 innings pitched respectively. Out of the bullpen, Matthew Potts and Justin Dunlap each have three relief appearances and have not allowed an earned run this season.
SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series 4-1 over Northwestern Oklahoma. The Hornets and Rangers split the two games played last season with the Hornets winning the home matchup on a 5-4 walkoff win from Glennen Field.
UP NEXT
Emporia State will continue their stay in the Sooner State as they travel to Tahlequah, Okla. as they open MIAA action against Northeastern State on Feb. 24-26.
