April 18, 2023 – Emporia State tallied 17 runs on 20 hits, including seven home runs but were unable to take down Oklahoma Baptist as the Hornets fell 23-17 on Tuesday afternoon from Glennen Field.
The offensive production picked up early as the Hornets and Bison combined for seven runs in the first frame. Oklahoma Baptist started the scoring with back-to-back RBI from Dan Pruitt and Kade Self as the Bison took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.
Following a pair of outs to begin the bottom half,
Noah Geekie jumpstarted the inning with a double down the left field line before he scored on a
Patryk Hernandez two-run home run, his fourth in the past three games.
Mason Sturdy and
TJ Racherbaumer recorded back-to-back singles to bring up
Palmer Hutchison. Hutchison homered to left center, his fifth of the season to put the Hornets ahead 5-2 in the first frame.
In the top of the second, Oklahoma Baptist responded with eight runs on seven hits, including four home runs as they built a 10-5 lead over Emporia State.
The Hornets managed one base runner in the second as
Chandler Bloomer drew a one-out walk, but Emporia State was held without a run.
The Bison continued to add to their total as they tallied five more runs in the third inning, including a grand slam, the second home run of the game for Troy Shields.
Mason Sturdy began the home half of the third with a solo home run and following the first out of the inning,
Palmer Hutchison lifted his second of the game to left field as the Bison lead was trimmed to 15-7 through three innings.
Jake Daneff held the Bison scoreless in the fourth for the first time in the game and Emporia State responded at the plate with their second five run inning of the game.
Chandler Bloomer and
Noah Geekie started the inning with back-to-back one out singles, before a pair of walks drawn by
Patryk Hernandez and
Mason Sturdy made the score 15-8.
Noah Geekie came in to score on a wild pitch as the Hornets trimmed the deficit to 15-9. Following a
TJ Racherbaumer walk to load the bases,
Kase Johnson recorded a two-out infield single to score Hernandez.
Brenden Tauber followed the Johnson single with a single of his own that brought in two runs as the Hornets made the score 15-12 through four innings.
The scoring for Oklahoma Baptist continued in the fifth as they started the inning with a single and a walk. The Hornets retired the next two batters before a three-run home run from Trey Furrey extended the Bison lead to 18-12 over Emporia State.
Chandler Bloomer and
Noah Geekie recreated the start to the fourth with a walk and a single to start the fifth inning. Bloomer and Geekie advanced to scoring position on a wild pitch before scoring on double from
Patryk Hernandez, his third and fourth RBI of the game as Emporia State again trimmed the deficit, this time to 18-14 heading into the sixth frame.
Kayden Beauregard took the mound in the sixth for Emporia State and held Oklahoma Baptist as they tallied just one run as they extended the lead to 19-14.
Kase Johnson led off the bottom half with a double over the head of the left fielder but was ultimately stranded as the Hornets were kept off the board in the sixth inning.
Oklahoma Baptist returned to the long ball in the seventh inning with back-to-back home runs to leadoff the inning.
Emporia State returned the favor in the bottom half as
Noah Geekie led off the inning with a home run and
Mason Sturdy hit his second home run of the game with one out as the Hornets made the score 21-16.
The final two runs for the Bison came in the eighth inning with a two-run home run to build their lead to 23-16 and the final run for Emporia State came in the bottom of the ninth as
Mason Sturdy hit his third home run of the game. The Hornets were unable to rally any further as they fell to Oklahoma Baptist 23-17 on Tuesday afternoon from Glennen Field.
Six different Hornets recorded multi-hit games led by
Mason Sturdy and
Noah Geekie who each recorded four of their own while Sturdy went 4-5 with three home runs, four RBI, a walk and five runs scored.
Palmer Hutchison went 3-6 with two home runs and four RBI.
Emporia State returns to action on Friday, April 21 as they begin a three-game MIAA series against Missouri Western. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. from Glennen Field.
