Baseball | 3/21/2023 3:53:00 PM
Emporia State Hornets (10-16, 6-7 MIAA)
at Northwestern Oklahoma (13-14, 6-9 GAC)
Monday, March 22 • 3:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan. • Glennen Field
Series Record: ESU leads 4-2 •
Last Meeting: NWOSU 6, ESU 3 (2/21/23)
Video: The MIAA Network •
Live Stats: esuhornets.com
Up Next: at Missouri Southern • March 25-27
Joplin, Mo. • Warren Turner Field
MIDWEEK REMATCH
Emporia State is set to take on Northwestern Oklahoma from Glennen Field in a rematch of last month's midweek matchup in Alva, Okla.
LAST AT BAT
Emporia State took on Northwest Missouri in three-game road series. The Hornets and Bearcats split the Sunday doubleheader before Emporia State clinched the series with a 13-10 win on Monday afternoon.
THE COACHES
Seth Wheeler is in his fifth season as the Hornets head coach. He is 89-101 through four-plus seasons at the helm.
Ryan Bowen is 119-121 in his sixth year at Northwestern Oklahoma.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 10-16 and 6-7 in the MIAA this season. At the plate,
Noah Geekie leads the Hornets with a .328 batting average with four doubles, one triple, one home run and 16 RBI on the season. Geekie is also 4-1 on the mound with 41 strikeouts this season.
Chandler Bloomer is batting .308 this season and 8-15 in the last series against Northwest Missouri.
Kadyn Williams leads the team with 25 hits and 22 RBI this season and is 12-12 on stolen bases. On the mound,
Ian Lanik is 4-3 with a 3.15 ERA across nine appearances. In the bullpen, four Hornets have made nine or more relief appearances with
Will Hann leading the way with 10 while holding a 1.17 ERA across 15.1 innings pitched.
SCOUTING THE RANGERS
Northwestern Oklahoma is 13-14 this season and 6-9 in the GAC. The Rangers are 6-2 against MIAA opponents this season, including a 6-3 win over the Hornets in February. They are led offensively by a handful of players batting above .300 this season, with Brandon Holdren leading the way with a .391 average and a team-high 1.068 OPS. In addition to Holdren, Hagen Barcello has a team-high eight home runs and 29 RBI. As a team, the Rangers hold a .298 batting average and a .372 on-base percentage. On the mound, Northwestern Oklahoma is sixth in the GAC with a 6.21 ERA. Cole Rodriguez has made six starts and seven appearances for the Rangers and holds 3.41 ERA across 31.2 innings pitched. In the bullpen, Max McClain, Cade Phelps and Connor Gibson have all made at least nine relief appearances.
SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series 4-2 over Northwestern Oklahoma. In the last three matchups over the past two seasons, the home team has won all three games.
UP NEXT
Emporia State will return to MIAA action with a road trip to Joplin, Mo. as the Hornets are scheduled to take on Missouri Southern on 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 89-101. 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 .328 this season with an on-base percentage of .369. He has tallied 16 RBI and 11 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 41.1 innings in seven starts this season.
Outfielder
Quinton Carlberg (So./Lee's Summit, Mo.) has played in 25 games for the Hornets and is second on the team with five home runs and has team-high 19 walks and 22 runs scored while also driving in 12 runs.
Outfielder
Brenden Tauber (Jr./Omaha, Neb.) has played in 18 games while making 16 starts. Tauber holds a .414 OBP with three doubles and ten 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 21 games this season, while making 19 starts at first base. Bloomer is batting .308 with a .418 on-base percentage that leads the team. He has recorded three doubles, 11 RBI and scored 15 runs.
Second Basemen
Kase Johnson (Jr./Iowa Park, Texas) has played in 15 games and made ten 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 25 games and made 22 starts at four different positions for the Hornets. Williams holds a .389 OBP with five doubles, two triples, two home runs and 22 RBI on the season.
Shortstop
Andrew Rantz (Fr./Topeka, Kan.) has started all 26 games at shortstop for the Hornets and holds a .270 on-base percentage. Rantz leads the Hornets with six home runs and ten extra-base hits while driving in 15 runs and scoring 18 of his own.
Third Baseman
Palmer Hutchison (So./Hays, Kan.) has played in all 26 games for the Hornets and made 25 starts. Hutchison holds a .381 OBP and 12 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 23 games for Emporia State in the designated hitter role and holds a batting average of .265 with three home runs, nine RBI, 14 runs scored, five doubles and one triple.
BEHIND THE PLATE
Catcher
TJ Racherbaumer (So./Hermann, MO) has started all 26 games for the Hornets behind the plate and holds a .327 on-base percentage. Racherbaumer has two home runs, 13 RBI, and ten 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 nine appearances for the Hornets this season, with six 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 40.0 innings this season and has a 4-3 record. He has struck out 31 batters while allowing just 15 walks and is only allowing a .199 batting average.
Right-handed pitcher
Noah Geekie (Sr./Strathclair, Manitoba) has taken the mound for seven starts for the Hornets this season. Geekie has tallied 41.1 innings pitched has struck out 41 batters while allowing just 11 walks. He holds a 4.35 ERA with a 4-1 record and is allowing just a .247 batting average against.
Left-handed pitcher
Graham Brunner (Jr./Sherwood Park, Alberta) transferred to Emporia State from Illinois State and has started seven games for the Hornets. Brunner has tallied 27.2 innings pitched with 19 strikeouts.
Right-handed pitcher
Greg Ross (So./Sarnia, Ontario) has made nine bullpen appearances for Emporia State this season, with four resulting in a save. Across his nine appearances, he has pitched 23.2 innings and has recorded 33 strikeouts and allowed just 11 walks. Ross has allowed just six extra-base hits and is limiting opponents to a .221 batting average.
Right-handed pitcher
Braden Meek (Jr./Enid, OK) has appeared in t11 games for the Hornets with 12.0 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 20.2 innings pitched across his seven appearances. In his 20.2 innings, Barton has recorded 22 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.
Right-handed pitcher
Will Hann (Jr./Olathe, KS) has pitched 15.1 innings across ten relief appearances and holds a 1.17 ERA with only two earned runs allowed.
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.
