MIAA Play Begins for Emporia State Baseball at Northeastern State

Baseball | 2/22/2023 4:54:00 PM

Emporia State Hornets (4-8, 0-0 MIAA)
vs. Northeastern State Riverhawks (6-5, 0-0 MIAA)
Thursday, Feb. 23 • 2:00 p.m. • Tahlequah, Okla. • Rousey Field
Friday, Feb. 24 • 2:00 p.m. • Tahlequah, Okla. • Rousey Field
Saturday, Feb. 25 • 1:00 p.m. • Tahlequah, Okla. • Rousey Field
Series Record: ESU leads 18-12 Last Meeting: NSU 8, ESU 4 (2/28/22)
Video: The MIAA Network Live Stats: esuhornets.com
Up Next: at Oklahoma Baptist • Feb. 28
Shawnee, Okla. • Bobby Cox Field at Ford Park

MIAA ACTION BEGINS
Emporia State will open MIAA play with a road series against Northeastern State.

LAST AT BAT
Emporia State traveled to Alva, Okla. for a midweek matchup against Northwestern Oklahoma. The Hornets were unable to keep pace as the Rangers tallied six solo home runs as Emporia State fell 6-3 on Tuesday afternoon.

THE COACHES
Seth Wheeler is in his fifth season as the Hornets head coach. He is 83-93 through four-plus seasons at the helm.
James Cullinane the acting head coach for the Riverhawks and is 6-5 this season.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 4-8 this season entering their first MIAA series of the season. At the plate, Jake Bucovetsky holds a team-high .310 batting average and 1.050 OPS. Bucovetsky has three home runs, four doubles and five RBI this season. The Hornets have 19 home runs this season with Andrew Rantz leading the way with four of his own while Gibrian Pena, Quinton Carlberg and Palmer Hutchison in addition to Bucovetsky all have three this season. TJ Racherbaumer has started all 12 games for the Hornets behind the plate and was MIAA Freshman of the Year last season. On the mound, Noah Geekie has pitched 16.0 innings and holds a 1.69 ERA with 20 strikeouts and four walks. Ian Lanik has appeared in four games with two starts and is 2-1 with a 2.76 ERA this season. In the bullpen, Greg Ross has five appearances and two saves.

SCOUTING THE RIVERHAWKS
Northeastern State is 6-5 this season following a 38-18 finish last season which included a trip to the NCAA Central Regional. The Riverhawks have a pair of hitters, Isaiah Keller and C.D. White, who hold averages above .400 this season. Keller holds a .415 average, .510 on-base percentage, 1.290 OPS which are all team-highs. In addtion to strong starts this season from Keller and White, the Riverhawks return Blake Freeman, who was an ABCA Third Team All-American selection last season. This season, Freeman is hitting .362 with a .444 on-base percentage. He has also scored a team-high 13 runs in 11 games. On the mound, Seth Stacey and Lee Callison lead the Riverhawks in innings pitched with 18.1 and 17.0 respectively. Out of the bullpen, Cole White has appeared in seven games and tallied 8.2 innings. Kyle Duffey has pitched 4.1 innings across four appearances and has yet to allow an earned run this season. 

SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series over Northeastern State 18-12 with the Hornets winning the lone postseasn meeting between the two teams which came in 2014 with a 10-3 win in the MIAA Tournament.

UP NEXT
Emporia State will take on Oklahoma Baptist in a midweek matchup on Tuesday, February 28 before returning home for a three-game series against Fort Hays State March 3-5.

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 83-93. 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 .263 this season with an on-base percentage of .364, which ranks fourth on the Hornets. He has tallied four 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 16.0 innings in two starts this season.
Oufielder Gibrian Pena (So./Odessa, Texas) has started all 12 games for the Hornets with ten being in left field. Pena is batting .244 with a .346 OBP as he leads the Hornets with 11 RBI on the season while recording three home runs. 
Outfielder Quinton Carlberg (So./Lee's Summit, Mo.) has started all 12 games for the Hornets in right field and holds .333 OBP with one double, one triple, three home runs and six RBI.

AROUND THE HORN 
First Baseman Chandler Bloomer (Sr./Ottawa, KS) has played in nine games this season, while making seven starts at first base. Bloomer has drawn four walks and holds a .208 OBP after posting a .365 OBP last season.
Second Basemen Kase Johnson (Jr./Iowa Park, Texas) has played in five 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 11 games and made nine starts at three different positions for the Hornets. Williams holds a .400 OBP with three RBI on season. 
Shortstop Andrew Rantz (Fr./Topeka, Kan.) has started all 12 games at shortstop for the Hornets and is hitting .234 with an OBP of .895 which ranks second on the team. Rantz has a team-high four home runs with four doubles and ten RBI for the Hornets. 
Third Baseman Palmer Hutchison (So./Hays, Kan.) has played in all 12 games for the Hornets and made 11 starts. Hutchison holds a .370 OBP and six RBI on the season. He has three home runs and has a pair of three-hit games, including the last time out against Northwestern Oklahoma.
Designated Hitter Jake Bucovetsky (So./Toronto, Ontario) has started all 12 games for Emporia State in the designated hitter role and has a team-high .310 batting average and 1.050 OPS. Bucovetsky has three home runs, five RBI and four doubles on the season for the Hornets.


BEHIND THE PLATE
Catcher TJ Racherbaumer (So./Hermann, MO) has started all 12 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 three games for the Hornets. Brunner has tallied 9.1 innings pitched with seven strikeouts.
Right-handed pitcher Cade Barton (So./Omaha, Neb.) has started a trio of games for the Hornets this season and has totaled 12.2 innings pitched across his three starts. In his 12.2 innings, Barton has recorded 13 strikeouts and just seven walks.
Right-handed pitcher Noah Geekie (Sr./Strathclair, Manitoba) has taken the mound for three starts for the Hornets this season. Geekie has tallied 16.0 innings pitched and allowed just three runs while striking out 20 batters and walking just four. He is posting a 1.69 ERA and is allowing opposing hitters to hit just .220 when he is on the mound.
Right-handed pitcher Grant Huffman (Fr./Lee's Summit, Mo.) has appeared in three games for the Hornets this season, with two relief appearances and one start. Huffman has pitched 6.2 innings and recorded 12 strikeouts and allowed just five walks.
Right-handed pitcher Braden Meek (Jr./Enid, OK) has appeared in five games for the Hornets with 4.2 innings pitched while recording four 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 five  appearances for the Hornets this season, with his latest being a start against Augustana in the series finale. Lanik has pitched 16.1 innings this season and has a 2-1 record. He has struck out 14 batters while allowing just four walks and is only allowing a .164 batting average against. 
Right-handed pitcher Greg Ross (So./Sarnia, Ontario) has made five bullpen appearances for Emporia State this season, with two resulting in a save. Across his five appearances, he has pitched 13.0 innings and has recorded 19 strikeouts and allowed just six walks. Ross has allowed just four extra-base hits and is limiting opponents to a .239 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.