Baseball | 4/17/2023 7:23:00 PM
Emporia State Hornets (16-26, 10-17 MIAA)
vs. Oklahoma Baptist Bison (22-17, 14-13 GAC)
Tuesday, April 18 • 4:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan.• Glennen Field
Series Record: OBU leads 12-3 •
Last Meeting: OBU 16, ESU 13 (2/28/23)
Video: The MIAA Network •
Live Stats: esuhornets.com
Up Next: Missouri Western • April 21-23
Emporia, Kan. • Glennen Field
BEST OF THREE
Emporia State takes on Oklahoma Baptist in a non-conference midweek matchup. This meeting is the third matchup between the Hornets and Bison this season.
LAST AT BAT
The Hornets traveled to Topeka for a three-game set in the Turnpike Tussle. Emporia State took one game from the Ichabods with a 10-8 win in game two.
THE COACHES
Seth Wheeler is in his fifth season as the Hornets head coach. He is 95-111 through four-plus seasons at the helm.
Chris Cox is 91-60 in his fourth season at Oklahoma Baptist.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 16-26 and 10-17 in the MIAA this season. At the plate,
Noah Geekie leads the Hornets with a .333 batting average with ten extra-base hits and 22 RBI on the season. In addition to his production at the plate, Geekie has pitched 63.1 innings while recording 56 strikeouts.
Chandler Bloomer holds a .297 average and a .393 on-base percentage with six doubles and 20 RBI.
Kadyn Williams leads the Hornets with 14 extra-base hits and 14 stolen bases.
Ian Lanik has made 14 appearances and ten starts across 59.1 innings pitched. Out of the bullpen,
Will Hann and
Braden Meek each have tallied 17 relief appearances while Meek has 24 strikeouts in 25.1 innings.
SCOUTING THE BISON
Oklahoma Baptist is 22-17 this season and 14-133 in the GAC. The Bison are 5-4 this season against MIAA opponents with two games against the Hornets this season. The Bison have five hitters batting above .300 that have recorded at least 100 at-bats. Kade Self leads the way with a .401 average and an OPS of 1.085. Dan Pruitt leads Oklahoma Baptist with 15 home runs after hitting 24 last season to lead the GAC. Pruitt earned All-Central Region and All-American honors following his 2022 campaign. On the mound, nine different players have appeared in ten or more games with Brek Galbreath leading the team with 64.2 innings pitched. Galbreath has recorded 45 strikeouts with just 16 walks allowed.
SERIES HISTORY
Oklahoma Baptist leads the all-time series 12-3.
Last time vs. the bison
The Hornets fell 16-13 in a game that included seven home runs, including a grand slam with four RBI each from
Kadyn Williams and
Quinton Carlberg.
UP NEXT
The Hornets will take on Missouri Western in a three-game MIAA series on April 21-23 from Glennen Field.
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 95-111. 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 .333 this season with an on-base percentage of .400. He has tallied 22 RBI and 20 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 63.1 innings in 11 starts this season.
Outfielder
Quinton Carlberg (So./Lee's Summit, Mo.) has played in 38 games for the Hornets and has a team-high eight home runs and 31 runs scored while also drawing 26 walks and driving in 19 runs.
Outfielder
Brenden Tauber (Jr./Omaha, Neb.) has made 30 starts and played in 32 games for the Hornets and is batting .261 this season with a .378 on-base percentage. Tauber has 18 runs scored with two home runs and five doubles on the season.
AROUND THE HORN
First Baseman
Chandler Bloomer (Sr./Ottawa, KS) has played in 37 games this season, while making 35 starts. Bloomer is batting .297 with a .393 on-base percentage. He has recorded six doubles, 20 RBI and scored 27 runs on the season.
Second Basemen
Kase Johnson (Jr./Iowa Park, Texas) has played in 24 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 41 games and made 38 starts at four different positions for the Hornets. Williams holds a .396 OBP with six doubles, three triples, five home runs and 36 RBI on the season.
Shortstop
Andrew Rantz (Fr./Topeka, Kan.) has started all 42 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 14 extra-base hits while driving in 22 runs and scoring 26 of his own.
Third Baseman
Palmer Hutchison (So./Hays, Kan.) has played in 40 games for the Hornets and made 38 starts at third base. Hutchison holds a .339 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/First Basemen
Patryk Hernandez (Jr./Leawood, Kan.) is batting .298 with a .441 OBP. Hernandez has five home runs and 16 RBI, including three home runs and seven RBI over the last two games.
Infielder
Mason Sturdy (So./Wamego, Kan.) has played in 18 games and made 12 starts for the Hornets and is batting .306 including a 3-4 game with two home runs, five RBI and three runs scored last week against Pittsburg State.
BEHIND THE PLATE
Catcher
TJ Racherbaumer (So./Hermann, MO) has started all 42 games for the Hornets behind the plate and holds a .346 on-base percentage. Racherbaumer has three home runs, 23 RBI, and 20 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 14 appearances for the Hornets this season, with ten 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 59.1 innings this season and has four wins and one save. He has struck out 43 batters while allowing just 26 walks and is only allowing a .236 batting average.
Right-handed pitcher
Noah Geekie (Sr./Strathclair, Manitoba) has taken the mound for 11 starts for the Hornets this season. Geekie has tallied 63.1 innings pitched has struck out 56 batters while allowing just 25 walks. He holds a 4-3 record and is allowing just a .272 batting average against.
Left-handed pitcher
Graham Brunner (Jr./Sherwood Park, Alberta) transferred to Emporia State from Illinois State and has started ten games for the Hornets and made 11 appearances. Brunner has tallied 46.1 innings pitched with 33 strikeouts.
Right-handed pitcher
Greg Ross (So./Sarnia, Ontario) has 13 appearances with two starts and has recorded a team-high four saves. Across his 13 appearances, he has pitched 31.2 innings and has recorded 40 strikeouts and allowed just 23 walks. Ross has allowed just nine extra-base hits and is limiting opponents to a .278 batting average.
Right-handed pitcher
Braden Meek (Jr./Enid, OK) has appeared in 17 games for the Hornets with 25.1 innings pitched while recording 24 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 27.2 innings across 17 relief appearances and holds a 3.58 ERA while striking out 18 batters with just four 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.
