Baseball | 4/10/2023 7:50:00 PM
Emporia State Hornets (15-23, 9-14 MIAA)
at Pittsburg State (26-11, 17-6 MIAA)
Tuesday, April 11 • 5:00 p.m. • Pittsburg, Kan.• Al Ortolani Field
Series Record: ESU leads 89-45 •
Last Meeting: ESU 8, PSU 7 (3/28/23)
Video: The MIAA Network •
Live Stats: esuhornets.com
Up Next: at Washburn • April 14-16
Topeka, Kan. • Falley Field
MIDWEEK RUBBER MATCH
Emporia State travels to Pittsburg, Kan. for the third and final MIAA midweek matchup of the season as the Hornets and Gorillas split the previous two matchups.
LAST AT BAT
The Hornets traveled south on the Turnpike for a three-game series against Newman. Emporia State took the the first game 9-1 before falling in both game two and three.
THE COACHES
Seth Wheeler is in his fifth season as the Hornets head coach. He is 94-108 through four-plus seasons at the helm.
Bob Fornelli is 132-77 in his fifth season at Pittsburg State.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 15-23 and 9-14 in the MIAA this season. At the plate,
Chandler Bloomer leads the Hornets with a batting average of .315 with eight extra-base hits and 16 RBI on the season.
Noah Geekie and
Kadyn Williams follow Bloomer with a .310 and .287 batting average while
Brenden Tauber is batting .293 across 82 at-bats. Geekie has two home runs, two triples, five doubles and 21 RBI on the season. In addition to his production at the plate, Geekie has pitched 57.2 innings while recording 52 strikeouts.
Ian Lanik has made 13 appearances and nine starts across 53.2 innings pitched. Out of the bullpen,
Will Hann has 15 appearances and 17 strikeouts across 24.2 innings in relief.
SCOUTING THE GORILLAS
Pittsburg State is 26-11 this season and 17-6 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 home runs, total bases, hits and RBI. The lineup is led by Nixon Brannan who is batting .442 and has 17 doubles and 14 home runs with 68 RBI. Brannan leads the MIAA in both home runs and RBI. In addition to Brannan, four Gorillas have tallied double-digit extra base hits on the season with Cade Clemons recording nine doubles, two triples and 13 home runs. On the mound, nine different Gorillas have appeared in nine or more games. Zac Shoemaker has ten starts and holds a 2.82 ERA across 51.0 innings pitched.
SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series 89-45.
LAST TIME VS. GORILLAS
Emporia State rallied from a 7-4 deficit to take down the Gorillas 8-7 from Glennen Field.
UP NEXT
The Hornets take on Washburn in the Turnpike Tussle from Topeka, Kan.
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 94-108. 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 .310 this season with an on-base percentage of .375. He has tallied 21 RBI and 18 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 57.2 innings in ten starts this season.
Outfielder
Quinton Carlberg (So./Lee's Summit, Mo.) has played in 35 games for the Hornets and has a team-high eight home runs and 27 runs scored while also drawing 24 walks and driving in 18 runs.
Outfielder
Brenden Tauber (Jr./Omaha, Neb.) has made 27 starts and played in 29 games for the Hornets and is batting .293 this season with a .404 on-base percentage. Tauber has 17 runs scored and hit his second home run of the season last week against William Jewell.
AROUND THE HORN
First Baseman
Chandler Bloomer (Sr./Ottawa, KS) has played in 33 games this season, while making 31 starts. Bloomer is batting .315 with a .412 on-base percentage that leads the team. He has recorded six doubles, 16 RBI and scored 24 runs.
Second Basemen
Kase Johnson (Jr./Iowa Park, Texas) has played in 23 games and made 16 starts at second base for the Hornets. Johnson has hit three doubles and scored ten runs while driving in eight runs of his own.
Infielder
Kadyn Williams (So./Emporia, KS) has played in 37 games and made 34 starts at four different positions for the Hornets. Williams holds a .414 OBP with six doubles, three triples, four home runs and 33 RBI on the season.
Shortstop
Andrew Rantz (Fr./Topeka, Kan.) has started all 38 games at shortstop for the Hornets and holds a .275 on-base percentage. Rantz is second on the Hornets with seven home runs and has 13 extra-base hits while driving in 20 runs and scoring 25 of his own.
Third Baseman
Palmer Hutchison (So./Hays, Kan.) has played in all 38 games for the Hornets and made 36 starts at third base. Hutchison holds a .346 OBP and has 14 RBI on the season. He has four 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 has played in 27 games. Bucovetsky holds a batting average of .250 with four home runs, ten RBI, 15 runs scored, five doubles and one triple.
Designated Hitter/Pitcher
Jake Daneff (Fr./Kansas City, Mo.) has made eight pitching appearances and has eight at-bats on the season and is 5-8 with two doubles, one home run, three RBI and two walks.
Infielder
Mason Sturdy (So./Wamego, Kan.) has played in 14 games made eight starts for the Hornets and is batting .294 with two doubles, six RBI and five walks drawn.
BEHIND THE PLATE
Catcher
TJ Racherbaumer (So./Hermann, MO) has started all 38 games for the Hornets behind the plate and holds a .339 on-base percentage. Racherbaumer has three home runs, 23 RBI, and 19 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 13 appearances for the Hornets this season, with nine 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 53.2 innings this season and has four wins and one save. He has struck out 38 batters while allowing just 21 walks and is only allowing a .233 batting average.
Right-handed pitcher
Noah Geekie (Sr./Strathclair, Manitoba) has taken the mound for ten starts for the Hornets this season. Geekie has tallied 57.2 innings pitched has struck out 52 batters while allowing just 22 walks. He holds a 4.99 ERA with a 4-3 record and is allowing just a .256 batting average against.
Left-handed pitcher
Graham Brunner (Jr./Sherwood Park, Alberta) transferred to Emporia State from Illinois State and has started nine games for the Hornets and made ten appearances. Brunner has tallied 43.2 innings pitched with 31 strikeouts.
Right-handed pitcher
Greg Ross (So./Sarnia, Ontario) has 11 appearances with one start and has recorded a team-high four saves. Across his 11 appearances, he has pitched 27.2 innings and has recorded 35 strikeouts and allowed just 19 walks. Ross has allowed just seven extra-base hits and is limiting opponents to a .240 batting average.
Right-handed pitcher
Braden Meek (Jr./Enid, OK) has appeared in 15 games for the Hornets with 19.2 innings pitched while recording 16 strikeouts and allowing just three walks, including just one in his last six outings.
Right-handed pitcher
Cade Barton (So./Omaha, Neb.) has started six games for the Hornets this season and has totaled 25.2 innings pitched across his eight appearances. Barton has recorded 27 strikeouts.
Right-handed pitcher
Grant Huffman (Fr./Lee's Summit, Mo.) has appeared in eight games for the Hornets this season, with seven relief appearances and one start. Huffman has pitched 10.0 innings and recorded 17 strikeouts and allowed just nine walks.
Right-handed pitcher
Brayden Tower (Fr./Shawnee, KS) has made eight appearances and made one start for the Hornets this season and has tallied 19.1 innings pitched and 18 strikeouts. In the previous midweek matchup against Pittsburg State, Tower pitched the final three innings 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 24.2 innings across 15 relief appearances and holds a 4.01 ERA while striking out 17 batters with just three 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.
