Baseball | 3/9/2023 12:06:00 PM
Emporia State Hornets (7-12, 3-3 MIAA)
vs. Central Missouri Mules (13-6, 5-1 MIAA)
Friday, March 10 • 4:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan. • Glennen Field
Saturday, March 11 • 2:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan. • Glennen Field
Sunday, March 12 • 1:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan. • Glennen Field
Series Record: UCM leads 138-65
Last Meeting: UCM 15, ESU 5 (5/7/22)
Video: The MIAA Network
Live Stats: esuhornets.com
Up Next: at Pittsburg State • Mar. 14
Pittsburg, Kan.
OPENING ROUND REMATCH
Emporia State takes on Central Missouri in a rematch of last season's MIAA Opening Round Series matchup.
LAST AT BAT
Emporia State took on Fort Hays State and clinched the series win with a 15-4 run rule victory.
Kadyn Williams highlighted the game with a career-high six RBI.
THE COACHES
Seth Wheeler is in his fifth season as the Hornets head coach. He is 86-97 through four-plus seasons at the helm.
Kyle Crookes is 316-114 in his ninth season at Central Missouri.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 7-12 and 3-3 in the MIAA this season. At the plate,
Kadyn Williams and
Noah Geekie lead the way for the Hornets with a .286 batting average. Williams also has a team-high 16 RBI and is tied for the team-high with four doubles this season.
Andrew Rantz leads the Hornets with five home runs and is one of seven batters with multiple home runs this season. In addition to Rantz,
Quinton Carlberg has four while
Jake Bucovetsky,
Palmer Hutchison and
Gibrian Pena each have three on the season. On the mound,
Ian Lanik has pitched a team-high 30.0 innings and holds a team-best 1.80 ERA with 23 strikeouts and eight walks allowed. Lanik was named MIAA Pitcher of the Week following his six shutout innings against Fort Hays State. Out of the bullpen,
Greg Ross has seven appearances with three saves.
SCOUTING THE MULES
Central Missouri is 13-6 this season and 5-1 in the MIAA. The Mules went 46-9 last season and appeared in the Central Regional Final. Central Missouri has scored 135 runs across their 19 games and are led by Carter Young who is batting .477 this season who also leads the Mules with 31 hits and a .527 on-base percentage. In addition to Young, four additional hitters hold batting averages above .300, including John Prudhom who is batting .367 and is tied for second in Division II with nine home runs on the season and team-high 21 RBI. Prudhom also earned Second Team All-Central Region last season. On the mound, Conner Wolf and Brock Toney lead the Mules with 21.0 and 19.1 innings respectively this season. In the bullpen, Harrison Babbitt, JD McReynolds and Ethan Peterson all have six relief appearances with Babbitt and McReynolds both holding a 0.00 ERA this season.
SERIES HISTORY
Central Missouri leads the all-time series 138-65 including meetings in the MIAA Opening Round Series each of the last two seasons.
UP NEXT
Emporia State will travel to Pittsburg State for the first of three midweek matchups on the season on Tuesday, March 14 before traveling to Northwest Missouri for a three-game series from March 17-19.
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 86-97. 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 .286 this season with an on-base percentage of .359. He has tallied nine RBI and six 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 28.0 innings in five starts this season.
Outfielder
Quinton Carlberg (So./Lee's Summit, Mo.) has played in 18 games for the Hornets and is second on the team with four home runs, 13 walks and also has 11 RBI and a team-high 16 runs scored this season.
Outfielder
Brenden Tauber (Jr./Omaha, Neb.) has played in 13 games while making 11 starts. Tauber holds a .488 OBP with two double and nine 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 14 games this season, while making 12 starts at first base. Bloomer is batting .243 with a .364 on-base percentage. He has recorded two doubles, three RBI and scored seven runs.
Second Basemen
Kase Johnson (Jr./Iowa Park, Texas) has played in 11 games and made eight 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 18 games and made 15 starts at three different positions for the Hornets. Williams holds a .408 OBP with 16 RBI on season.
Shortstop
Andrew Rantz (Fr./Topeka, Kan.) has started all 19 games at shortstop for the Hornets and is hitting .216 with an OBP of .293. Rantz has a team-high five home runs with four doubles, 13 runs scored and 12 RBI for the Hornets.
Third Baseman
Palmer Hutchison (So./Hays, Kan.) has played in all 19 games for the Hornets and made 18 starts. Hutchison holds a .359 OBP and seven 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 18 games for Emporia State in the designated hitter role and holds a batting average of .279 with three home runs, eight RBI, 13 runs scored and four doubles.
BEHIND THE PLATE
Catcher
TJ Racherbaumer (So./Hermann, MO) has started all 19 games for the Hornets behind the plate and has one home run, one double, eight RBI and seven 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 six appearances for the Hornets this season, with his latest being a start against Fort Hays State in the series opener. Lanik pitched 6.0 scoreless innings allowing just three hits as he earned MIAA Pitcher of the Wekk honors. He has pitched 30.0 innings this season and has a 3-2 record. He has struck out 23 batters while allowing just eight walks and is only allowing a .173 batting average against.
Right-handed pitcher
Noah Geekie (Sr./Strathclair, Manitoba) has taken the mound for five starts for the Hornets this season. Geekie has tallied 28.0 innings pitched has struck out 31 batters while allowing just seven walks. He holds a 3.54 ERA with a 3-1 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 five games for the Hornets. Brunner has tallied 19.1 innings pitched with 19 strikeouts.
Right-handed pitcher
Greg Ross (So./Sarnia, Ontario) has made seven bullpen appearances for Emporia State this season, with three resulting in a save. Across his seven appearances, he has pitched 21.0 innings and has recorded 30 strikeouts and allowed just seven walks. Ross has allowed just five extra-base hits and is limiting opponents to a .221 batting average.
Right-handed pitcher
Braden Meek (Jr./Enid, OK) has appeared in eight games for the Hornets with 6.0 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
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
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
Brayden Tower (Fr./Shawnee, KS) has made three bullpen appearances for the Hornets this season and has tallied 7.0 innings pitched and six strikeouts. Against Augustana, Tower pitched 4.0 scoreless innings while striking out three batters and allowing just three hits.
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.
