Baseball | 3/23/2023 8:55:00 PM
Emporia State Hornets (11-16, 6-7 MIAA)
at Missouri Southern (20-7, 10-3 MIAA)
Friday, March 24 • 6:00 p.m. • Joplin, Mo. • Warren Turner Field
Saturday, March 25 • 1:00 p.m. • Joplin, Mo. • Warren Turner Field
Sunday, March 26 • 1:00 p.m. • Joplin, Mo. • Warren Turner Field
Series Record: ESU leads 71-50 •
Last Meeting: ESU 3, MSSU 2 (3/27/22)
Video: The MIAA Network •
Live Stats: esuhornets.com
Up Next: Pittsburg State • March 28
TOP 25 ROAD TRIP
Emporia State travels to Joplin, Mo. to take on #25 Missouri Southern for a three-game series.
LAST AT BAT
Emporia State took on Northwestern Oklahoma in a midweek matchup on Wednesday with the Hornets taking down the Rangers 14-3. This was the sixth time this season the Hornets have surpassed ten runs.
THE COACHES
Seth Wheeler is in his fifth season as the Hornets head coach. He is 90-101 through four-plus seasons at the helm.
Bryce Darnell is 454-324 in his 16th year at Missouri Southern.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 11-16 and 6-7 in the MIAA this season. At the plate,
Noah Geekie leads the Hornets with a .323 batting average with four doubles, one triple, one home run and 17 RBI on the season. Geekie is also 4-1 on the mound with 41 strikeouts this season.
Chandler Bloomer is batting .304 this season, including 8-15 in the last MIAA 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 11 while holding a 1.13 ERA across 16.0 innings pitched.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
Missouri Southern is 20-7 this season and 10-3 in the MIAA. In the latest Collegiate Baseball Division II Poll, the Lions are ranked 25th and are currently the highest ranked MIAA team. As a team, Missouri Southern is batting .308 and are leading the MIAA in home runs, RBI, total bases and slugging percentage. Nate Mieszkowski lead the Lions with a .414 batting average and has nine home runs and 36 RBI this season. In addtion to Mieszkowski, Matt Miller has ten home runs to lead the MIAA. The Lions have eight different hitters with four or more home runs on the season. On the mound, Missouri Southern ranks top five in the MIAA in team ERA and strikeouts. Cole Woods leads the team with a 3.46 ERA across 41.2 innings pitched and seven starts. In the bullpen, Kyle Moore has made ten relief appearances and pitched 29.1 innings this season.
SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series 71-40 with both teams winning eight of the last 16 matchups between the two teams.
UP NEXT
Emporia State will return home on Tuesday, March 28 when they take on Pittsburg State in the second of three MIAA midweek matchups against the Gorillas.
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 90-101. 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 .323 this season with an on-base percentage of .362. He has tallied 17 RBI and 13 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 26 games for the Hornets and is second on the team with six home runs and has team-high 20 walks and 25 runs scored while also driving in 14 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 22 games this season, while making 20 starts. Bloomer is batting .304 with a .417 on-base percentage that leads the team. He has recorded three doubles, 11 RBI and scored 16 runs.
Second Basemen
Kase Johnson (Jr./Iowa Park, Texas) has played in 16 games and made 11 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 26 games and made 23 starts at four different positions for the Hornets. Williams holds a .407 OBP with five doubles, two triples, three home runs and 25 RBI on the season.
Shortstop
Andrew Rantz (Fr./Topeka, Kan.) has started all 27 games at shortstop for the Hornets and holds a .287 on-base percentage. Rantz leads the Hornets with seven home runs and 11 extra-base hits while driving in 18 runs and scoring 20 of his own.
Third Baseman
Palmer Hutchison (So./Hays, Kan.) has played in all 27 games for the Hornets and made 26 starts. Hutchison holds a .376 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 27 games for the Hornets behind the plate and holds a .331 on-base percentage. Racherbaumer has two home runs, 14 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 six games for the Hornets this season, with five relief appearances and one start. Huffman has pitched 8.2 innings and recorded 14 strikeouts and allowed just seven walks.
Right-handed pitcher
Brayden Tower (Fr./Shawnee, KS) has made five appearances and made one start for the Hornets this season and has tallied 10.2 innings pitched and nine strikeouts. In the last game against Northwestern Oklahoma, Tower made his first start and recorded his first career win with 3.0 innings pitched and just one run allowed.
Right-handed pitcher
Will Hann (Jr./Olathe, KS) has pitched 16.0 innings across 11 relief appearances and holds a 1.13 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.
