February 3, 2023 – Emporia State baseball opened the 2023 season with a 17-9 win over Oklahoma Baptist as the Hornets hit a pair of grand slams and three home runs in total on Friday afternoon from Edmond, Okla.
Following a quiet top half of the first inning from Oklahoma Baptist,
Andrew Rantz led off the bottom of the first inning with a double into left center. The Hornets were unable to drive Rantz around as the score remained tied entering the second inning.
The Hornets ran into trouble as the Bison scored five runs in the top half of the second. Oklahoma Baptist led off the second inning with a solo home run to take a 1-0 lead. Emporia State retired the next batter before the Bison loaded the bases with the next three hitters. Back-to-back hits drove in four runs as the Bison opened a 5-0 lead over the Hornets entering the bottom of the second inning.
Emporia State wasted little time cutting into the deficit as the first three hitters reached base for the Hornets. A
Noah Geekie single through the left side resulted in a pair of runs thanks in part due to an error by the Bison. Following the Geekie single, the Bison would commit a throwing error which allowed
Mason Sturdy to score from second as the Hornets made the score 5-3.
After a
Brooks Whaley single and a walk drawn by
Andrew Rantz, the Hornets loaded the bases.
Gibrian Pena stepped to the plate and lifted a grand slam over the right field wall to give Emporia State a 7-5 lead over Oklahoma Baptist. The next three hitters were able to reach base as the Hornets once again loaded the bases but Emporia State was unable to capitalize as the second inning came to a close with the Hornets still leading 7-5.
Both teams were able to settle the storm at the plate as both the Hornets and Bison went scoreless for the next three innings.
The Hornet hitters would strike again in the sixth inning as
Brooks Whaley,
Andrew Rantz and
Gibrian Pena all reached base to start the inning to load the bases. Whaley would come home to score during the next at-bat on a wild pitch as Emporia State took an 8-5 lead.
Following the wild pitch,
Palmer Hutchison drew a walk to again load the bases, this time for
TJ Racherbaumer who took advantage. Racherbaumer launched his own grand slam down the right-field line as the Hornets expanded their lead to 12-5 over the Bison.
Oklahoma Baptist looked to trim the Hornet advantage as they scored three runs in the top of the seventh to cut the Hornet lead down to 12-8 entering the bottom of the seventh inning.
Emporia State was able to regain their seven-run advantage in the bottom half of the seventh as
Gibrian Pena launched his second home run of the game to make the score 15-8.
The Hornets would add two more runs in the bottom of the eighth as
Andrew Rantz delivered an RBI single to score
Jake Bucovetsky before a wild pitch scored
Noah Geekie as Emporia State built a 17-8 lead over Oklahoma Baptist.
The Bison would score a lone run in the top of the ninth, but the Hornets were able to shut down a possible rally as
Greg Ross forced a groundout to clinch the 17-9 season opening win for Emporia State.
Gibrian Pena and
TJ Racherbaumer led the offensive charge for Emporia State. Pena went 2-4 with a grand slam and a three-run home run to total 7 RBI in the game. Racherbaumer also went 2-4 in the game with a walk and a grand slam of his own as he drove in four runs.
Andrew Rantz,
Mason Sturdy and
Noah Geekie each tallied two hits of their own in the game.
On the mound,
Ian Lanik took home the win as he pitched 4.2 innings in relief while allowing just one hit and striking out two hitters.
The Hornets will return to action on Saturday, February 4 as they take on Northern State on day two of the Edmond First Pitch Classic. The first pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at Wendell Simmons Field.
