March 12, 2023 – Emporia State baseball took home a Sunday split against Central Missouri as the Hornets took game one 3-2 before falling 10-2 in game two from Glennen Field.
Game One
Throughout much of game one, both Emporia State and Central Missouri were limited at the plate but the Hornets were able to record all three of their runs in the bottom of the third inning.
With one out in the inning,
Kadyn Williams and
Chandler Bloomer drew back-to-back walks before a
Palmer Hutchison single drove in Williams to put the Hornets ahead 1-0.
Following a steal from Hutchison, Bloomer scored and Hutchison advanced to third base on a wild pitch to double the Emporia State lead. The scoring was capped off by a
TJ Racherbaumer RBI groundout to make the score 3-0 through three innings.
Central Missouri responded with two runs of their own in the top of the fourth inning, which included a leadoff home run and an RBI groundout, as the Hornets' lead was trimmed to 3-2.
Following the pair of runs in the fourth inning, Emporia State starter
Noah Geekie settled back in and continued to keep the Mules off the scoreboard. Over his final three innings of work, Geekie recorded five strikeouts, including back-to-back strikeouts to end the eighth inning with Emporia State still leading Central Missouri 3-2.
In the ninth,
Carson Cornelius replaced Geekie looking for his first save of the season. Cornelius quickly recorded two outs before two runners reached base. Cornelius was able to strand both runners as he forced a groundout to
Palmer Hutchison at third base to clinch the 3-2 win for Emporia State in game one of the doubleheader.
At the plate, six different Hornets recorded a hit with
Palmer Hutchison and
TJ Racherbaumer both recording an RBI.
On the mound,
Noah Geekie pitched 8.0 innings allowing two runs on six hits while striking out ten batters.
Game Two
The Hornets retired the Mules in order to begin game two and struck first on the scoreboard with a run in the bottom half.
Chandler Bloomer drew a one-out walk and was followed by a double from
Palmer Hutchison which placed two runners in scoring position.
Noah Geekie recorded an RBI groundout to score Bloomer and put the Hornets ahead 1-0 over the Mules.
Central Missouri was able to respond as they tallied five runs across the next three innings to take a 5-1 lead over Emporia State.
The Mules added two more runs in the seventh inning before Emporia State added their second run of the game in the bottom of the eighth.
Quinton Carlberg drew a leadoff walk and was followed by a
TJ Racherbaumer singled into right field that advanced Carlberg to third base. Carlberg would later score on an RBI groundout from
Jake Bucovetsky.
Central Missouri added three runs in the ninth and Emporia State was unable to rally as the Hornets fell 10-2 against the Mules in game two of the doubleheader.
Palmer Hutchison went 2-5 from the plate while
TJ Racherbaumer and
Jake Bucovetsky each recorded a hit of their own.
Emporia State will return to action on Tuesday, March 14 as they travel to Pittsburg, Kan. for midweek MIAA matchup against Pittsburg State. The game is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m.
