Baseball | 3/2/2023 1:26:00 PM
Emporia State Hornets (5-11, 1-2 MIAA)
vs. Fort Hays State Tigers (7-10, 0-3 MIAA)
Friday, March 3 • 3:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan. • Glennen Field
Saturday, March 4 • 1:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan. • Glennen Field
Sunday, March 5 • 1:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan. • Glennen Field
Series Record: ESU leads 151-67
Last Meeting: ESU 8, FHSU 7 (11 inn.) (3/6/22)
Video: The MIAA Network
Live Stats: esuhornets.com
Up Next: Central Missouri • Mar. 10-12
Emporia, Kan. • Glennen Field
HOME SWEET HOME
Emporia State takes on Fort Hays State in their first home MIAA series and first series from Glennen Field this season.
LAST AT BAT
Emporia State took on Oklahoma Baptist in a midweek matchup that saw a combined 29 runs. The Hornets fell just short in a comeback attempt as they fell 16-13 to the Bison.
THE COACHES
Seth Wheeler is in his fifth season as the Hornets head coach. He is 84-96 through four-plus seasons at the helm.
Justin Wichert is 7-10 in his first season at Fort Hays State.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 5-11 this season entering their first MIAA series of the season. At the plate,
Jake Bucovetsky holds a team-high .283 batting average and .927 OPS. Bucovetsky has three home runs, four doubles and eight RBI this season. The Hornets have 21 home runs this season with
Andrew Rantz and
Quinton Carlberg leading the way with four of their own while
Gibrian Pena and
Palmer Hutchison have three this season.
TJ Racherbaumer has started all 16 games for the Hornets behind the plate and was MIAA Freshman of the Year last season. On the mound,
Noah Geekie has pitched 21.0 innings and holds a 3.00 ERA with 25 strikeouts and four walks.
Ian Lanik has appeared in five games with three starts and is 2-2 with a 2.25 ERA this season. In the bullpen,
Greg Ross has six appearances and three saves.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Fort Hays State is 7-10 this season and 0-3 after winning just four games last season. The Tigers hold a team batting average of .335 this season and have seven hitters above .300. They are led by Zane Knox and Elliott Herrmann who are batting .426 and .419 respectively. Knox has four home runs, 17 RBI and a team-high 1.292 OPS. Herrmann has five home runs, five doubles and an MIAA-leading 28 RBI. As a team, the Tigers rank within the top five in the MIAA in several offensive categories. They lead the league in batting average, hits and on-base percentage. On the mound, four different pitchers have appeared in at least five games. Andrew Hansen leads the Tigers with three starts, 16.2 innings pitched and 19 strikeouts.
SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series 151-67 including two out of three games last season. In the final game of the series, the Hornets entered the ninth inning trailing by two before a pair of home runs, with one by Racherbaumer, tied the game before Emporia State clinched the 8-7 win in 11 innings.
UP NEXT
Emporia State will remain home as they will take on Central Missouri in a rematch of last season's MIAA Opening Round Series. The series is scheduled for March 10-12 from Glennen Field.
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 84-96. 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 .323. 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 21.0 innings in four starts this season.
Oufielder
Gibrian Pena (So./Odessa, Texas) has started 14 games and played in 15 for the Hornets. Pena has three home runs and a team-high 11 RBI with seven runs scored.
Outfielder
Quinton Carlberg (So./Lee's Summit, Mo.) has played in 15 games for the Hornets and is tied for the team-high with four home runs while also ranking second with 10 RBI and 11 runs scored.
Outfielder
Brenden Tauber (Jr./Omaha, Neb.) has played in 10 games while making eight starts. Tauber holds a .433 OBP with one double and five runs scored.
AROUND THE HORN
First Baseman
Chandler Bloomer (Sr./Ottawa, KS) has played in 11 games this season, while making nine starts at first base. Bloomer has drawn four walks and scored four runs while holding a .281 OBP after posting a .365 OBP last season.
Second Basemen
Kase Johnson (Jr./Iowa Park, Texas) has played in nine games and made seven 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.
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 16 games at shortstop for the Hornets and is hitting .206 with an OBP of .296. Rantz has a team-high four home runs with four doubles, ten runs scored and ten RBI for the Hornets.
Third Baseman
Palmer Hutchison (So./Hays, Kan.) has played in all 16 games for the Hornets and made 15 starts. Hutchison holds a .354 OBP and six 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 all 16 games for Emporia State in the designated hitter role and has a team-high .283 batting average along with a .394 OBP and .927 OPS. Bucovetsky has three home runs, eight RBI and four doubles on the season for the Hornets.
BEHIND THE PLATE
Catcher
TJ Racherbaumer (So./Hermann, MO) has started all 16 games for the Hornets behind the plate and has one home run, one double, five RBI and fivesd 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 four games for the Hornets. Brunner has tallied 14.1 innings pitched with 12 strikeouts.
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
Noah Geekie (Sr./Strathclair, Manitoba) has taken the mound for four starts for the Hornets this season. Geekie has tallied 21.0 innings pitched has struck out 25 batters while allowing just four walks. He holds a 3.00 ERA with a 2-1 record and is allowing just a .250 batting average against.
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 seven games for the Hornets with 5.0 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 six bullpen appearances for Emporia State this season, with three resulting in a save. Across his six appearances, he has pitched 17.0 innings and has recorded 25 strikeouts and allowed just seven walks. Ross has allowed just four extra-base hits and is limiting opponents to a .200 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 the MIAA Tournament title twice.
