Baseball | 4/20/2023 4:03:00 PM
Emporia State Hornets (16-27, 10-17 MIAA)
vs. Missouri Western Griffons (11-29, 8-19 MIAA)
Friday, April 21 • 6:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan.• Glennen Field
Saturday, April 22 • 2:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan.• Glennen Field
Sunday, April 23 • 1:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan.• Glennen Field
Series Record: ESU leads 111-52 •
Last Meeting: MWSU 6, ESU 5 (4/24/22)
Video: The MIAA Network •
Live Stats: esuhornets.com
Up Next: Central Oklahoma • April 28-30
Emporia, Kan. • Glennen Field
HOME STRETCH
Emporia State is set for a three-game home series against Missouri Western as the Hornets will play their final six regular season games from Glennen Field.
LAST AT BAT
The Hornets hosted Oklahoma Baptist and tallied a season-high seven home runs and tied the season-high with 17 runs but fell 23-17 against the Bison.
THE COACHES
Seth Wheeler is in his fifth season as the Hornets head coach. He is 95-112 through four-plus seasons at the helm.
Buzz Verduzco is 625-543 in his 24th season at Missouri Western.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 16-27 and 10-17 in the MIAA this season. At the plate,
Noah Geekie leads the Hornets with a .352 batting average with 12 extra-base hits and 23 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 .303 average and a .404 on-base percentage with six doubles and 20 RBI.
Kadyn Williams leads the Hornets with 14 extra-base hits and 36 RBI.
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 GRIFFONS
Missouri Western is 11-29 on the season and 8-19 in the MIAA. The Griffons enter the weekend batting .277 as a team and are coming off a series win over Fort Hays State. Offensively, the Griffons have four players with an average above .300 as Will Courtney leads the way with a .337 average and a .426 on-base percentage. Brenden Anderson is batting .333 with nine doubles and 24 RBI while leading the way with a .447 on-base percentage. As a team, the Griffons have 19 home runs on the season as Hunter Olson and Travis Wiese are tied for the team-high with three each. On the mound, Brayden Haug leads the way with a 5.24 ERA across a team-high 46.1 innings pitched.
SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the series 111-52.
Last time vs. the bison
The Hornets took two of three from the Griffons last season including an 11-0 win in game one which included a home run from both
Chandler Bloomer and
Mason Sturdy.
UP NEXT
The Hornets will wrap up the regular season with a three-game home series against Central Oklahoma on April 28-30 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 95-112. 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 .352 this season with an on-base percentage of .414. He has tallied 23 RBI and 24 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 39 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 31 starts and played in 33 games for the Hornets and is batting .260 this season with a .374 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 38 games this season, while making 36 starts. Bloomer is batting .303 with a .404 on-base percentage. He has recorded six doubles, 20 RBI and scored 29 runs on the season.
Second Basemen
Kase Johnson (Jr./Iowa Park, Texas) has played in 25 games and made 17 starts in the middle infield for the Hornets. Johnson has hit four doubles and scored ten runs while driving in nine runs of his own.
Infielder
Kadyn Williams (So./Emporia, KS) has played in 42 games and made 39 starts at four different positions for the Hornets. Williams holds a .387 OBP with six doubles, three triples, five home runs and 36 RBI on the season.
Shortstop
Andrew Rantz (Fr./Topeka, Kan.) has started 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 41 games for the Hornets and made 39 starts at third base. Hutchison holds a .345 OBP and has 18 RBI on the season with six home runs, including two home runs and four RBI in the last game against Oklahoma Baptist.
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 .308 with a .446 OBP. Hernandez has six home runs and 20 RBI, including four home runs and 11 RBI over the past three games.
Infielder
Mason Sturdy (So./Wamego, Kan.) has played in 19 games and made 13 starts for the Hornets and is batting .352 including a 4-5 game with three home runs, four RBI and five runs in the last game against Oklahoma Baptist.
BEHIND THE PLATE
Catcher
TJ Racherbaumer (So./Hermann, MO) has started all 43 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 30.0 innings pitched across his ten appearances. Barton has recorded 29 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 ten appearances and made three starts for the Hornets this season and has tallied 22.0 innings pitched and 19 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.
