March 16, 2024 – Emporia State led early on but fell in game two against Rogers State 6-4 on Saturday afternoon from Trusler Sports Complex.
Both the Hornets and Hillcats went scoreless in the first inning before the Hornets broke through in the second. With two outs and runners on first and third,
Logan Myers singled to right field to score
TJ Racherbaumer as Emporia State jumped in front 1-0. Emporia State starter
Graham Brunner stranded two runners in the third to keep the Hornets in front before Emporia State added two more runs in the bottom half. With one out and
Kadyn Williams on first,
Dom Oliverio doubled to bring Williams around to score to double the lead. After a fly out for the second out of the frame,
Mason Sturdy doubled into the left center gap to bring Oliverio into score as the Hornets led 3-0 through three innings.
The first run for Rogers State came in the fourth inning on an RBI triple from Geovanni Blackshaw. After a scoreless bottom of the fourth from Emporia State, the Hillcats used four hits and an error to score three runs and take a 4-3 lead over the Hornets. In the bottom of the fifth,
Mason Sturdy drove in
Patryk Hernandez with an RBI fielder's choice to knot the score at 4-4 heading to the sixth. Following a scoreless sixth, Rogers State grabbed two runs on one hit and a Hornet error to lead Emporia State 6-4 in the seventh.
In their final three at-bats, the Hornets got their best chance in the eighth inning, as they loaded the bases, but were unable to push any runs across as they trailed 6-4 heading to the ninth. Both teams went down in order in the final frame as Emporia State fell 6-4 in game two.
Six different Hornets recorded a hit while
Mason Sturdy went 2-4 with two RBI.
The Hornets and Hillcats will meet in the rubber match of the series on Sunday, March 17 at Trusler Sports Complex. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
