Baseball | 3/29/2023 4:11:00 PM
Emporia State Hornets (12-19, 7-10 MIAA)
vs. Rogers State Hillcats (19-11, 7-10 MIAA)
Friday, March 31 • 6:00 p.m. • Emporia, KS • Glennen Field
Saturday, April 1 • 2:00 p.m. • Emporia, KS • Glennen Field
Sunday, April 2 • 1:00 p.m. • Emporia, KS • Glennen Field
Series Record: RSU leads 4-2 •
Last Meeting: ESU 8, RSU 0 (4/3/22)
Video: The MIAA Network •
Live Stats: esuhornets.com
Radio: KVOE 104.9 FM (Friday/Saturday Only) •
Internet Audio:
kvoe.com (Friday/Saturday Only)
Up Next: at William Jewell • April 4
THIRD TIME IS THE CHARM
Emporia State is set to take on Rogers State from Glennen Field in a three-game series. This is the third all-time series between the Hornets and Hillcats.
LAST AT BAT
The Hornets played host to Pittsburg State in the second of three midweek matchups against the Gorillas as Emporia State rallied from a three-run deficit to win 8-7.
THE COACHES
Seth Wheeler is in his fifth season as the Hornets head coach. He is 91-104 through four-plus seasons at the helm.
Chris Klimas is 214-179 in his ninth year at Rogers State.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 12-19 and 7-10 in the MIAA this season. At the plate,
Kadyn Williams is leading the way with a .295 average this season, as well as a team-high 31 hits, 27 RBI, and 12 extra-base hits.
Chandler Bloomer and
Noah Geekie are batting .293 and .292 respectively. Geekie has one home run, one triple, four doubles and 18 RBI on the season. In addition to his production at the plate, Geekie has pitched 49.1 innings with a 3.65 ERA while recording 48 strikeouts.
Ian Lanik has made ten appearances and seven starts across 42.2 innings pitched. Out of the bullpen,
Will Hann has a team-high 12 appearances and holds a 2.76 ERA across 16.1 innings pitched.
SCOUTING THE HILLCATS
Rogers State is 19-11 this season and 7-10 in the MIAA and won nine of their first 10 games this season. The Hillcats were 26-25 last season and made the MIAA Tournament as the seventh seed. This season, Rogers State is led by a trio of hitters with batting averages above .300, with AJ Folds leading the way with a .410 batting average. Folds has a team-high 1.071 OPS with nine doubles, two triples and ten stolen bases. Prescott Horn has a .397 average with a team-high 13 doubles which also ranks second in the MIAA. In addition to Fold and Horn, Gavin Mestas has five home runs and 15 extra-base hits. On the mound, the Hillcats have three starters with seven starts on the season. Andres De Leon has pitched 35.1 innings and holds a 4.84 ERA.
SERIES HISTORY
Rogers State leads the all-time series 4-2 as the Hornets and Hillcats first met back in the 2021 season.
UP NEXT
Emporia State will travel to Liberty, Mo. for a midweek matchup against William Jewell on April 4 before traveling to Wichita for a three-game series against Newman from April 6-April 8.
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 91-104. 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 .292 this season with an on-base percentage of .346. He has tallied 18 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 30 games for the Hornets and is second on the team with six home runs and has a team-high 22 walks and 26 runs scored while also driving in 14 runs.
Outfielder
Brenden Tauber (Jr./Omaha, Neb.) has made 20 starts and played in 22 games for the Hornets and is batting .304 this season with a .435 on-base percentage. Tauber has 12 runs scored and hit his second career home run in the last game against Pittsburg State.
AROUND THE HORN
First Baseman
Chandler Bloomer (Sr./Ottawa, KS) has played in 26 games this season, while making 23 starts. Bloomer is batting .293 with a .404 on-base percentage that leads the team. He has recorded four doubles, 12 RBI and scored 17 runs.
Second Basemen
Kase Johnson (Jr./Iowa Park, Texas) has played in 19 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 30 games and made 27 starts at four different positions for the Hornets. Williams holds a .398 OBP with six doubles, three triples, three home runs and 27 RBI on the season.
Shortstop
Andrew Rantz (Fr./Topeka, Kan.) has started all 31 games at shortstop for the Hornets and holds a .270 on-base percentage. Rantz leads the Hornets with seven home runs and has 11 extra-base hits while driving in 18 runs and scoring 21 of his own.
Third Baseman
Palmer Hutchison (So./Hays, Kan.) has played in all 31 games for the Hornets and made 30 starts at third base. Hutchison holds a .362 OBP and has 12 RBI on the season. He has three home runs and has eight multi-hit games this season.
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.
Designated Hitter/Pitcher
Jake Daneff (Fr./Kansas City, Mo.) has made seven pitching appearances and has made four appearances in the lineup, including his first start in the last game against Pittsburg State. Daneff is 5-6 with one home run and three RBI on the season.
BEHIND THE PLATE
Catcher
TJ Racherbaumer (So./Hermann, MO) has started all 31 games for the Hornets behind the plate and holds a .323 on-base percentage. Racherbaumer has three home runs, 16 RBI, and 12 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 Week 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 ten appearances with one start and has recorded a team-high four saves.. Across his ten appearances, he has pitched 25.1 innings and has recorded 33 strikeouts and allowed just 16 walks. Ross has allowed just six extra-base hits and is limiting opponents to a .226 batting average.
Right-handed pitcher
Braden Meek (Jr./Enid, OK) has appeared in 12 games for the Hornets with 15.1 innings pitched while recording 12 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
Brayden Tower (Fr./Shawnee, KS) has made seven appearances and made one start for the Hornets this season and has tallied 16.1 innings pitched and 16 strikeouts. In the last game, Tower pitched the final three innings against Pittsburg State and allowed just one hit and struck out five batters to pick up his second win of the season.
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.
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 seven games for the Hornets this season, with six relief appearances and one start. Huffman has pitched 9.2 innings and recorded 16 strikeouts and allowed just eight walks.
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.
