Baseball | 3/13/2023 4:24:00 PM
Emporia State Hornets (8-14, 4-5 MIAA)
vs. Pittsburg State (14-7, 6-3 MIAA)
Tuesday, March 14 • 5:00 p.m. • Pittsburg, Kan. • Al Ortolani Field
Series Record: ESU leads 88-44
Last Meeting: ESU 11, PSU 10 (4/12/22)
Video: The MIAA Network
Live Stats: esuhornets.com
Up Next: at Northwest Missouri • March 17-19
Maryville, Mo.
SPRING BREAK SINGLE
Emporia State travels to Pittsburg, Kan. for the first of three midweek MIAA matchups this season between the Hornets and Gorillas.
LAST AT BAT
Emporia State hosted Central Missouri in a three-game series from Glennen Field. The Hornets took one of three games from the Mules with a 3-2 win in game one of the Sunday doubleheader.
THE COACHES
Seth Wheeler is in his fifth season as the Hornets head coach. He is 87-99 through four-plus seasons at the helm.
Bob Fornelli is 120-73 in his fifth season at Pittsburg State.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 8-14 and 4-5 in the MIAA this season. At the plate,
Jake Bucovetsky leads the Hornets with a .263 average and a team-high 20 hits.
Kadyn Williams ranks second on the team with 17 hits and is leading the way with 16 RBI on the season. Williams also has eight stolen bases on the season.
Andrew Rantz is leading Emporia State with 10 extra-base hits and six home runs on the season. On the mound,
Ian Lanik has pitched a team-high 30.0 innings and holds a team-best 1.80 ERA with 23 strikeouts and eight walks allowed. Lanik was named MIAA Pitcher of the Week following his six shutout innings against Fort Hays State.
Noah Geekie is 4-1 on the mound, including an 8.0 inning, ten strikeout performance against Central Missouri. Out of the bullpen,
Greg Ross has seven appearances with three saves.
SCOUTING THE GORILLAS
Pittsburg State is 14-7 and 6-3 in the MIAA this season following a 31-21 finish last season as they advanced past Missouri Southern in the MIAA Opening Round Series. This season, the Gorillas are batting .314 and are reaching base at a .408 clip. At the plate, Pittsburg State has seven players batting above .300, with Cade Clemons and Trey McClelland batting .394. Both Clemons and McClelland have tallied five home runs and rank top three in the MIAA in OPS with McClelland leading the way at 1.391.Nixon Brannan leads Pittsburg State with eight home runs, which is tied for third-most in the nation. On the mound, the Gorillas pitching staff is led by Zac Shoemaker who has started six games and holds a 5-0 record with a 1.48 ERA across 30.1 innings pitched. In the bullpen, Pittsburg State has five pitchers who have made six or more relief appearances on the season.
SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series 88-44 and have won five of the last seven meeting between the Hornets and the Gorillas. In the last matchup, Emporia State rallied to score six runs in the ninth inning to beat Pittsburg State on a walkoff grand slam to take an 11-10 win.
UP NEXT
Emporia State will travel to Northwest Missouri for a three-game weekend series against the Bearcats. The games are scheduled to take place March 17-19.
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 87-99. 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 .233 this season with an on-base percentage of .298. He has tallied ten RBI and six 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 36.0 innings in six starts this season.
Outfielder
Quinton Carlberg (So./Lee's Summit, Mo.) has played in 21 games for the Hornets and is second on the team with four home runs and has team-high 16 walks and 18 runs scored while also driving in 11 runs.
Outfielder
Brenden Tauber (Jr./Omaha, Neb.) has played in 15 games while making 13 starts. Tauber holds a .489 OBP with three doubles and nine runs scored.
Oufielder
Gibrian Pena (So./Odessa, Texas) has started 14 games and played in 15 for the Hornets. Pena has three home runs and 11 RBI with seven runs scored.
AROUND THE HORN
First Baseman
Chandler Bloomer (Sr./Ottawa, KS) has played in 17 games this season, while making 15 starts at first base. Bloomer is batting .244 with a .404 on-base percentage. He has recorded two doubles, three RBI and scored ten runs.
Second Basemen
Kase Johnson (Jr./Iowa Park, Texas) has played in 13 games and made eight starts at second base for the Hornets. Last season, Johnson played in 23 games as he tallied two home runs and six RBI.
Infielder
Kadyn Williams (So./Emporia, KS) has played in 21 games and made 18 starts at four different positions for the Hornets. Williams holds a .372 OBP with 16 RBI on the season.
Shortstop
Andrew Rantz (Fr./Topeka, Kan.) has started all 19 games at shortstop for the Hornets and is hitting .216 with an OBP of .293. Rantz has a team-high five home runs with four doubles, 13 runs scored and 12 RBI for the Hornets.
Third Baseman
Palmer Hutchison (So./Hays, Kan.) has played in all 19 games for the Hornets and made 18 starts. Hutchison holds a .359 OBP and seven RBI on the season. He has three home runs and has a pair of three-hit games.
Designated Hitter
Jake Bucovetsky (So./Toronto, Ontario) has started 18 games for Emporia State in the designated hitter role and holds a batting average of .279 with three home runs, eight RBI, 13 runs scored and four doubles.
BEHIND THE PLATE
Catcher
TJ Racherbaumer (So./Hermann, MO) has started all 22 games for the Hornets behind the plate and has one home run, one double, nine RBI and seven 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
Right-handed pitcher
Ian Lanik (So./Eagle, Neb.) has made sieven appearances for the Hornets this season, with five as a starter. Against Fort Hays State, Lanik pitched 6.0 scoreless innings allowing just three hits as he earned MIAA Pitcher of the Wekk honors. He has pitched 33.0 innings this season and has a 3-3 record. He has struck out 25 batters while allowing just 11 walks and is only allowing a .202 batting average against.
Right-handed pitcher
Noah Geekie (Sr./Strathclair, Manitoba) has taken the mound for six starts for the Hornets this season. Geekie has tallied 36.0 innings pitched has struck out 41 batters while allowing just nine walks. He holds a 3.25 ERA with a 4-1 record and is allowing just a .221 batting average against.
Left-handed pitcher
Graham Brunner (Jr./Sherwood Park, Alberta) transferred to Emporia State from Illinois State and has started six games for the Hornets. Brunner has tallied 23.1 innings pitched with 16 strikeouts.
Right-handed pitcher
Greg Ross (So./Sarnia, Ontario) has made seven bullpen appearances for Emporia State this season, with three resulting in a save. Across his seven appearances, he has pitched 21.0 innings and has recorded 30 strikeouts and allowed just seven walks. Ross has allowed just five extra-base hits and is limiting opponents to a .221 batting average.
Right-handed pitcher
Braden Meek (Jr./Enid, OK) has appeared in nine games for the Hornets with 8.0 innings pitched while recording five 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
Cade Barton (So./Omaha, Neb.) has started four games for the Hornets this season and has totaled 14.2 innings pitched across his four starts. In his 14.2 innings, Barton has recorded 15 strikeouts and ten walks.
Right-handed pitcher
Grant Huffman (Fr./Lee's Summit, Mo.) has appeared in five games for the Hornets this season, with four relief appearances and one start. Huffman has pitched 7.2 innings and recorded 13 strikeouts and allowed just seven walks.
Right-handed pitcher
Brayden Tower (Fr./Shawnee, KS) has made four bullpen appearances for the Hornets this season and has tallied 7.2 innings pitched and six strikeouts. Against Augustana earlier this season, Tower pitched 4.0 scoreless innings while striking out three batters and allowing just three hits.
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 the MIAA Tournament title twice.
