February 24, 2024 – Emporia State baseball defeated Northwest Missouri 13-5 on Saturday afternoon with the help of a seven-run seventh inning for the Hornets.
For the second consecutive game, Emporia State fell behind in the first inning as Northwest Missouri used a hit-by-pitch, walk, passed ball and sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead despite being held without a hit.
Both teams were retired in order in the second before Emporia State broke through with three runs in the third.
A pair of singles and a fielding error loaded the bases for the Hornets before
Logan Myers doubled to drive in a pair of runs to give Emporia State the 2-1 lead.
Kadyn Williams followed Myers' double with an RBI single of his own to extend the Emporia State advantage to 3-1.
Ian Lanik kept the Bearcats off the board in the bottom of the third and in the fourth inning before Northwest Missouri scraped together two runs in the fifth. Two hits and a fielding error from the Hornets allowed the Bearcats to tie the game 3-3 heading into the sixth.
After the first two batters were retired for Emporia State in the sixth, a fielding error and an RBI single from
Drew Jennings restored a 4-3 lead for the Hornets.
Hornet relief pitcher
Trent Warstler retired the Bearcats to bring Emporia State back to the plate as they put together a seven-run seventh.
An RBI single from
TJ Racherbaumer and a two RBI single from
Brooks Whaley extended the Hornet advantage to 7-3 with two outs in the inning. Emporia State would add for more runs in the inning as the Hornets got a pair of two-run home runs from
Konner Hatfield and
Andrew Rantz as the lead swelled to 11-3.
Northwest Missouri would grab run in the bottom half against Warstler but were limited to just one run as Emporia State took a 11-4 lead into the final two innings.
After a scoreless eighth with included a pair of strikeouts on the mound for Warstler, Emporia State would add two more runs in the ninth. The Hornets got an RBI single from
Drew Jennings and a sacrifice fly from
Logan Myers to build a 13-4 lead. The Bearcats added one run in the ninth, but Emporia State clinched the 13-5 win on Saturday afternoon.
Five different Hornets recorded multiple RBI with
Logan Myers driving in a team-high three runs.
Brooks Whaley,
Konner Hatfield,
Drew Jennings and
Andrew Rantz each had two RBI.
TJ Racherbaumer went 2-5 while Rantz went 3-5 and Jennings went 2-2 at the plate.
Ian Lanik got the no-decision after pitching 4.2 innings with two earned runs and five strikeouts.
Trent Warstler picked up his first career win after pitching 4.2 innings in relief and allowed two runs with one earned and four strikeouts.
Emporia State will take on Northwest Missouri in the rubber match of their MIAA opening series on Sunday, February 25. Game time for game three of the series is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in Maryville, Mo.
