Turnpike Tussle Against Washburn On Tap For Emporia State Baseball

Baseball | 4/13/2023 8:44:00 PM

Emporia State Hornets (15-24, 9-15 MIAA)
at Washburn Ichabods (22-16, 15-9 MIAA)
Tuesday, April 14 • 5:00 p.m. • Topeka, Kan.• Falley Field
Wednesday, April 15 • 2:00 p.m. • Topeka, Kan.• Falley Field
Thursday, April 16 • 1:00 p.m. • Topeka, Kan.• Falley Field
Series Record: ESU leads 178-82-1 •  Last Meeting: WU 2, ESU 1 (4/16/22)
Video: The MIAA Network • Live Stats: esuhornets.com
Up Next: Oklahoma Baptist • April 18
Emporia, Kan. • Glennen Field

TIME TO TUSSLE
Emporia State travels up the turnpike for their final road MIAA series of the season. The Hornets and Ichabods have 261 previous meetings heading into the series.

LAST AT BAT
The Hornets traveled to Pittsburg, Kan. for the midweek series finale against the Gorillas. Emporia State tallied three home runs despite falling 13-8.

THE COACHES
Seth Wheeler is in his fifth season as the Hornets head coach. He is 94-109 through four-plus seasons at the helm.
Harley Douglas is 216-190 in his ninth season at Washburn.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 15-24 and 9-15 in the MIAA this season. At the plate, Noah Geekie leads the Hornets with a .330 batting average with nine extra-base hits and 21 RBI on the season. In addition to his production at the plate, Geekie has pitched 57.2 innings while recording 52 strikeouts. Chandler Bloomer  holds a .304 average and a .404 on-base percentage with six doubles and 16 RBI. Kadyn Williams leads the Hornets with 14 extra-base hits and 14 stolen bases. 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 ICHABODS
Washburn is 22-16 on the season and 15-9 in the MIAA as they are currently in fifth place in the MIAA standings. The Ichabods are led offensively by four players with an average above .300, including Ike Book who leads the way with a .381 batting average. Book also leads Washburn with a .476 on-base percentage while stealing six bases. Cale Savage is batting .315 while recording nine home runs and 20 extra-base hits on the season. Savage has a team-high 46 RBI which also ranks in the top ten in the MIAA. On the mound, Rane Pfeifer and Casey Steward have both made ten starts for the Ichabods and have surpassed 52.0 innings pitched on the season. Steward's team-high 75 strikeouts is a team-high and also the leading mark in the MIAA this season. In the bullpen, three Ichabods have 13 or more appearances including Jayden Payne who holds a 2.93 ERA.

SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series 178-82-1.

UP NEXT
The Hornets return home for a non-conference midweek matchup against Oklahoma Baptist on Tuesday, April 18 before a home MIAA series against Missouri Western.

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 94-109. 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 .330 this season with an on-base percentage of .396. He has tallied 21 RBI and 19 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 36 games for the Hornets and has a team-high eight home runs and 29 runs scored while also drawing 24 walks and driving in 18 runs.
Outfielder Brenden Tauber (Jr./Omaha, Neb.) has made 28 starts and played in 30 games for the Hornets and is batting .286 this season with a .408 on-base percentage. Tauber has 18 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 34 games this season, while making 32 starts. Bloomer is batting .304 with a .404 on-base percentage. He has recorded six doubles, 16 RBI and scored 24 runs on the season.
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 38 games and made 35 starts at four different positions for the Hornets. Williams holds a .407 OBP with six doubles, three triples, five home runs and 36 RBI on the season.
Shortstop Andrew Rantz (Fr./Topeka, Kan.) has started all 39 games at shortstop for the Hornets and holds a .274 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 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 15 games and made nine starts for the Hornets and is batting .342 including a 3-4 game with two home runs, five RBI and three runs scored in the last game against Pittsburg State.

BEHIND THE PLATE
Catcher TJ Racherbaumer (So./Hermann, MO) has started all 39 games for the Hornets behind the plate and holds a .329 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 12 appearances with two starts and has recorded a team-high four saves. Across his 11 appearances, he has pitched 31.1 innings and has recorded 40 strikeouts and allowed just 22 walks. Ross has allowed just nine extra-base hits and is limiting opponents to a .262 batting average. 
Right-handed pitcher Braden Meek (Jr./Enid, OK) has appeared in 16 games for the Hornets with 23.0 innings pitched while recording 21 strikeouts and allowing just three walks, including just one in his last seven 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 nine appearances and made one start for the Hornets this season and has tallied 20.1 innings pitched and 18 strikeouts. Earlier this season, Tower pitched the final three innings against Pittsburg State to claim his second win of the season with five strikeouts and just one hit allowed.
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.