Baseball | 3/27/2023 3:03:00 PM
Emporia State Hornets (11-19, 6-10 MIAA)
vs. Pittsburg State (21-7, 13-3 MIAA)
Tuesday, March 28 • 6:00 p.m. • Emporia, KS • Glennen Field
Series Record: ESU leads 88-45 •
Last Meeting: PSU 9, ESU 8 (3/14/23)
Video: The MIAA Network •
Live Stats: esuhornets.com
Radio: KFFX 104.9 FM •
Internet Audio:
kvoe.com
Up Next: Rogers State • March 31-April 1
Emporia, Kan. • Glennen Field
HORNET BASEBALL ON THE AIR
Emporia State returns to Glennen Field for the second of three MIAA midweek matchups against Pittsburg State. Tuesday's game against the Gorillas is the first of six scheduled games on the air for Hornet Baseball.
LAST AT BAT
The Hornets traveled to Joplin, Mo. for a three-game series against Missouri Southern. The Hornets fell in the series final 1-0 as
Noah Geekie allowed just two hits on the mound for the Hornets.
THE COACHES
Seth Wheeler is in his fifth season as the Hornets head coach. He is 90-104 through four-plus seasons at the helm.
Bob Fornelli is 127-73 in his fifth year at Pittsburg State.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 11-19 and 6-10 in the MIAA this season. At the plate,
Noah Geekie leads the Hornets with a .309 batting average with four doubles, one triple, one home run and 17 RBI on the season. Geekie is also 4-2 on the mound with 48 strikeouts this season.
Chandler Bloomer is batting .295 this season and leads the team with a .404 OBP.
Kadyn Williams leads the team with 28 hits and 22 RBI this season and is 12-12 on stolen bases. On the mound,
Ian Lanik is 4-4 with a 4.01 ERA across ten appearances. In the bullpen, four Hornets have made nine or more relief appearances with
Will Hann leading the way with 11 while holding a 2.76 ERA across 16.1 innings pitched.
SCOUTING THE GORILLAS
Pittsburg State is 21-7 this season and 13-3 in the MIAA. Last season, the Gorillas advanced past Missouri Southern in the MIAA Opening Round Series before falling in the final four. As a team, the Gorillas rank second in the MIAA in batting average, home runs, total bases and on-base percentage. The lineup is led by Nixon Brannan who is batting .431 and has 12 doubles and 12 home runs with 49 RBI. Brannan leads the MIAA in both home runs and RBI. In addition to Brannan, three Gorillas have tallied double-digit extra base hits on the season with Cade Clemons recording nine doubles, two triples and eight home runs. On the mound, nine different Hornets have appeared in nine or more games. Zac Shoemaker has eight starts and holds a 1.26 ERA across 43.0 innings pitched.
SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series 88-45 and the Hornets and Gorillas have split the last ten matchups.
UP NEXT
Emporia State will remain home to take on Rogers State in their third MIAA series that will be hosted from Glennen Field. The series is scheduled for March 31-April 2 as the Hornets and Hillcats meet for their third all-time series.
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 90-104. 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 .309 this season with an on-base percentage of .356. 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 49.1 innings in eight starts this season.
Outfielder
Quinton Carlberg (So./Lee's Summit, Mo.) has played in 29 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 21 games while making 19 starts. Tauber holds a .400 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 25 games this season, while making 23 starts. Bloomer is batting .295 with a .404 on-base percentage that leads the team. He has recorded four doubles, 11 RBI and scored 16 runs.
Second Basemen
Kase Johnson (Jr./Iowa Park, Texas) has played in 18 games and made 13 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 29 games and made 26 starts at four different positions for the Hornets. Williams holds a .382 OBP with five doubles, two triples, three home runs and 25 RBI on the season.
Shortstop
Andrew Rantz (Fr./Topeka, Kan.) has started all 30 games at shortstop for the Hornets and holds a .270 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 30 games for the Hornets and made 29 starts. Hutchison holds a .370 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 25 games for Emporia State in the designated hitter role and holds a batting average of .256 with three home runs, nine RBI, 14 runs scored, five doubles and one triple with 14 runs scored.
BEHIND THE PLATE
Catcher
TJ Racherbaumer (So./Hermann, MO) has started all 30 games for the Hornets behind the plate and holds a .320 on-base percentage. Racherbaumer has three home runs, 15 RBI, and 11 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 ten appearances for the Hornets this season, with seven 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 4-4 record. He has struck out 32 batters while allowing just 18 walks and is only allowing a .222 batting average.
Right-handed pitcher
Noah Geekie (Sr./Strathclair, Manitoba) has taken the mound for eight starts for the Hornets this season. Geekie has tallied 49.1 innings pitched has struck out 48 batters while allowing just 15 walks. He holds a 3.65 ERA with a 4-2 record and is allowing just a .225 batting average against.
Left-handed pitcher
Graham Brunner (Jr./Sherwood Park, Alberta) transferred to Emporia State from Illinois State and has started eight games for the Hornets. Brunner has tallied 30.2 innings pitched with 22 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 11 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 22.2 innings pitched across his eight appearances. In his 22.2 innings, Barton has recorded 24 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 six appearances and made one start for the Hornets this season and has tallied 13.1 innings pitched and 11 strikeouts. Tower made his first start against Northwestern Oklahoma 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 16.1 innings across 12 relief appearances and holds a 2.76 ERA with only five 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.
