Baseball | 3/11/2024 4:51:00 PM
Emporia State Hornets (12-11, 3-6 MIAA)
vs. Pittsburg State Gorillas (16-5, 7-2 MIAA)
Tuesday, March 12 • 3:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan. • Glennen Field
Series Record: ESU leads 89-46 • Last Meeting: PSU 13, ESU 8 (4/11/23)
Live Stats: esuhornets.com • Video: The MIAA Network
Up Next: Rogers State • March 15-17 • Emporia, Kan.
MIDWEEK MIAA MATCHUP
Emporia State takes on Pittsburg State in the first of three midweek matchups between the Hornets and Gorillas.
LAST TIME OUT
Emporia State fell in three games against #10 Missouri Southern despite scoring 15 runs over the final two games.
THE COACHES
Brad Hill is 12-11 in his first season as the Hornets head coach and has a career record of 898-493-3.
Bob Fornelli is 155-91 in his sixth season at Pittsburg State.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is in their first season under head coach Brad Hill and the Hornets are 12-11 on the season and 3-6 in the MIAA. Five pitchers have made six or more appearances with Cade Barton and Ian Lanik each having six starts and over 30 innings pitched. Lanik has 31 strikeouts while Barton has 29 of his own. At the plate, Kadyn Williams has a team-high .378 average with 31 hits, 12 extra-base hits, and 23 RBI with four steals. Logan Myers and Patryk Hernandez are hitting .339 and .330 respectively while Myers leads the Hornets with a .500 OBP. Williams, Myers, and Hernandez each have four home runs while Austin Hamm has five this season.
SCOUTING THE GORILLAS
Pittsburg State is 16-5 this season and 7-2 in the MIAA following back-to-back sweeps against Northwest Missouri and Rogers State. The Gorillas are led offensively by Blake Mozley who is batting .378 and has a .517 on-base percentage. Karson Coffee has a .297 average and has seven home runs and 28 RBI which both lead Pittsburg State. Nixon Brannan and Cade Clemons each have five home runs on the season. On the mound, Alex Kafka and Tanner Leslie each have six starts with Kafka holding a 3.58 ERA across 27.2 innings pitched. Brady Pacha has a team-high 23 strikeouts and Boston Dowd has a 0.00 ERA through six appearances and 14.0 innings pitched.Â
SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series 89-46 over Pittsburg State.Â
LAST TIME VS. MISSOURI SOUTHERN
The Hornets fell in the midweek series finale last season 13-8 despite three five RBI from Mason Sturdy and three RBI from Kadyn Williams.
UP NEXT
Emporia State continues their stay at Trusler Sports Complex with a three-game series against Rogers State on March 15-17.Â
TOP OF THE HILL
Brad Hill is in his first season at the helm of the Hornet Baseball program and has a 12-11 record. Hill has a career record of 898-493-3 in 24 seasons leading Kansas State and Central Missouri. In his career, Hill has taken 13 teams to the NCAA Tournament, nine trips with the Mules and four with the Wildcats. At Central Missouri, Hill made nine NCAA Tournament trips in nine seasons with seven Division II World Series appearances, including the 2003 National Championship.
He moved from Warrensburg to Manhattan following the 2003 national championship and would lead K-State to four NCAA Regional Tournaments and the Wildcats first ever Super Regional berth in 2013. He was named the ABCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year in 2009 as the Bat Cats advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
A proven producer of talent, Hill has coached 64 players that were selected in the MLB Draft with 46 at Kansas State and 18 in nine years at Division II Central Missouri.
Hill was a three-time All-American in 1982-84 for the Hornets and is the career record holder in games played (244), home runs (47), and RBI (264), while also ranking second in career doubles, at-bats and base hits in Hornet baseball history.
NEARING 900
Brad Hill currently has 898 wins in his 25th season as a head coach at the Division I and II levels. Hill is the winningest coach at both Central Missouri and Kansas State with 418 and 468 wins at each program. His 418 wins during his time at Central Missouri in addition to his 12 wins this season with the Hornets puts him at eighth-most on the MIAA career coaching wins list with 430.
