April 23, 2023 – Emporia State tallied ten hits and a pair of timely home runs to secure the 6-4 win over Missouri Western in the series finale Sunday afternoon from Glennen Field.
Missouri Western started the game with a leadoff double and moved two runners into scoring position with two outs in the first.
Ian Lanik, who got the start for the Hornets, stranded both runners with a ground ball to first base to keep the Griffons off the scoreboard.
Kadyn Williams led off the bottom half with a single before advancing to second base on a balk. With one out,
Noah Geekie singled to third base before a throwing error allowed
Kadyn Williams to score from second and Geekie to advance to third base.
TJ Racherbaumer followed Geekie with a two-run home run as Emporia State took a 3-0 lead through the first inning.
Both teams were held scoreless in the second inning before Missouri Western broke through with a pair of runs in the third frame. Back-to-back hits from the Griffons advanced two runners into scoring position. A sacrifice fly from Will Courtney followed by an RBI single from Hunter Rumachik trimmed the Emporia State lead to 3-2.
The Hornets responded in the bottom half with three more runs as they rallied with two outs.
Noah Geekie was hit by a pitch before
TJ Racherbaumer recorded his second hit of the game with a single to center field.
Gibrian Pena followed Racherbaumer with a three-run home run, his fourth of the season, as Emporia State built a 6-2 lead over the Griffons.
Ian Lanik settled in on the mound as he allowed just one hit and kept the Griffons off the scoreboard in both the fourth and fifth inning.
Emporia State tallied two more hits in the fifth frame but were held without a run as their lead remained stable at 6-2.
Missouri Western trimmed the Emporia State lead to 6-4 as they used four hits and a Hornet error to score a pair of runs in the sixth inning.
Following a scoreless inning from the Hornets, Missouri Western threatened the Hornets with a two-out rally. With two outs in the seventh, a walk and a single placed runners on the corners. Emporia State went to the bullpen as
Will Hann took over for Lanik with the tying run on the first base. Hann took just two pitches to force a popup to
Kase Johnson at shortstop to maintain the 6-4 lead for Emporia State and keep Lanik in line for the win.
Both teams were kept in check through the final two innings as
Will Hann kept the Griffons without a hit in the final 2.1 innings to seal the 6-4 win for Emporia State over Missouri Western in the series finale.
Kadyn Williams went 3-4 with a double and a run scored while
Noah Geekie and
TJ Racherbaumer each tallied two hits of their own. Racherbaumer went 2-4 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored and
Gibrian Pena had a three-run home run in the third inning.
Ian Lanik pitched 6.2 innings allowing four runs and just two walks to pick up his fifth win of the season while
Will Hann pitched the final 2.1 innings and picked up his third save of the season.
Emporia State will return to action on the final weekend of the regular season as they play host to Central Oklahoma from April 28-30 at Glennen Field. First pitch for game one on Friday, April 28 is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
