Baseball | 3/17/2023 1:28:00 PM
Emporia State Hornets (8-15, 4-6 MIAA)
at Northwest Missouri (4-17, 2-8 MIAA)
Sunday, March 19 • 12:00 a.m. (DH) • Maryville, Mo. • Bearcat Baseball Field
Monday, March 20 • 1:00 p.m. • Maryville, Mo. • Bearcat Baseball Field
Series Record: ESU leads 69-42 •
Last Meeting: ESU 7, NWMSU 3 (3/20/22)
Video: The MIAA Network •
Live Stats: esuhornets.com
Up Next: Northwestern Oklahoma • March 21 • Emporia, Kan
SPRING BREAK WRAP UP
Emporia State travels to Maryville, Mo. for a three-game series against the Bearcats to conclude spring break.
LAST AT BAT
Emporia State traveled to Pittsburg State for the first of three MIAA midweek matchups this season. The Hornets rallied from a three-run deficit but ultimately fell 9-8 against the Gorillas.
THE COACHES
Seth Wheeler is in his fifth season as the Hornets head coach. He is 87-100 through four-plus seasons at the helm.
Darin Loe is 562-603 in his 24th year at Northwest Missouri.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 8-15 and 4-6 in the MIAA this season. At the plate, Kadyn Williiams leads the Hornets with a .270 average and a team-high 11 stolen bases.
Jake Bucovetsky is second on the team with a .266 average and a team-high 21 hits..
Andrew Rantz is leading Emporia State with 10 extra-base hits and six home runs on the season. On the mound,
Noah Geekie has pitched a team-high 36 .0 innings and holds a 3.25 ERA with 41 strikeouts.
Ian Lanik has added 34.0 innings of his own with a 3.44 ERA across eight apperances and five starts. Out of the bullpen,
Greg Ross has pitched 21.0 innings in relief and holds a 3.43 ERA with three saves. In addition to Ross, three more Hornets have made seven or more relief appearances this season.
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Northwest Missouri is 4-17 and 2-8 in the MIAA this season and are batting .245 as a team this season. The Bearcats have four batters that hold a batting average above .300 on the season. Cole Slibowski leads the way with a .362 average and .448 on-base percentage. Ryan Koski is batting .324 this season and leads Northwest Missouri with a 1.037 OPS and 11 extra-base hits with five home runs this seaosn. On the mound, the Bearcats hold a 5.48 ERA as a pitching staff and are led by three starters, Zach Wiese, Alex Slocum and Max Spitzmiller, who all have six starts this season. Wiese holds a 3.64 ERA across 29.2 innings with 29 strikeouts.
SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series 69-42 after winning two of three games last season and six of the last eight games. Last season, after splitting a Sunday doubleheader, Emporia State took the series final 7-3 behind five Hornet home runs, including a solo home run from
Brenden Tauber,
Kadyn Williams and
Kase Johnson.
UP NEXT
Emporia State will return to Glennen Field on Tuesday, March 21 against Northwestern Oklahoma before hitting the road again for a road MIAA series against Missouri Southern in Joplin, Mo. The series against the Lions will take place March 25-27.
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 87-100. 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 .250 this season with an on-base percentage of .308. He has tallied 12 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 22 games for the Hornets and is second on the team with four home runs and has team-high 17 walks and 19 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 18 games this season, while making 16 starts at first base. Bloomer is batting .24 with a .397 on-base percentage. He has recorded two doubles, four 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 22 games and made 19 starts at four different positions for the Hornets. Williams holds a .391 OBP with 18 RBI on the season.
Shortstop
Andrew Rantz (Fr./Topeka, Kan.) has started all 23 games at shortstop for the Hornets and is hitting .191 with an OBP of .265. Rantz has a team-high six home runs with four doubles, 15 runs scored and 13 RBI for the Hornets.
Third Baseman
Palmer Hutchison (So./Hays, Kan.) has played in all 23 games for the Hornets and made 22 starts. Hutchison holds a .371 OBP and 11 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 22 games for Emporia State in the designated hitter role and holds a batting average of .266 with three home runs, nine RBI, 13 runs scored and five doubles.
BEHIND THE PLATE
Catcher
TJ Racherbaumer (So./Hermann, MO) has started all 23 games for the Hornets behind the plate and has one home run, one double, nine RBI and eight 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 eight 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 34.0 innings this season and has a 3-3 record. He has struck out 26 batters while allowing just 11 walks and is only allowing a .205 batting average.
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 ten games for the Hornets with 10.1 innings pitched while recording eight 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 five games for the Hornets this season and has totaled 17.1 innings pitched across his five starts. In his 17.1 innings, Barton has recorded 17 strikeouts.
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.
