March 17, 2024 – Emporia State outlasted Rogers State in a pitcher's duel with a 1-0 win on Sunday afternoon at Trusler Sports Complex.
In the first, Emporia State starter
Ian Lanik forced three straight groundouts to
Andrew Rantz to retire Rogers State in order. The Hornets also went down in order in the bottom half. The Hillcats got their first hit in the second, but Lanik got a strikeout to strand the runner and keep Rogers State off the board. Emporia State threatened in the bottom half as
Dom Oliverio reached on an error and
TJ Racherbaumer was hit by a pitch. Oliverio reached third on a flyout but the Hornets remained scoreless heading to the third. Both teams reached base in the third, with
Kadyn Williams lacing a single up the middle for the Hornets first hit, but the score remained deadlocked 0-0 heading to the fourth.
Following another scoreless frame from Lanik on the mound, Emporia State found the breakthrough in the bottom of the fourth.
Dom Oliverio reached with a one-out single and in the next at-bat advanced to second on a groundout. With two outs,
Joe Daneff tripled into left center to score Oliverio and give the Hornets the 1-0 advantage.
Ian Lanik continued his strong performance on the mound as he faced the minimum in both the fifth and sixth innings before stranding a leadoff single in the seventh to complete his afternoon.
Eli Hernandez took over in the eighth for Lanik and with one out, the Hillcats had two runners in scoring position. Hernandez escaped with a strikeout and a groundout back to the mound to keep the 1-0 lead intact.
In the ninth, Hernandez worked around a two-out walk, forcing a foul ball flyout to a sliding
Andrew Rantz, completing six-out save and clinching the 1-0 win for Emporia State in the series finale. With the win on Sunday, head coach
Brad Hill earned his 900
th career win in his collegiate coaching career.
Ian Lanik tossed seven scoreless frames and struck out five batters while allowing just three hits.
Eli Hernandez picked up his first career save with two scoreless innings and two strikeouts.
At the plate, the Hornets were limited to just six hits while
Joe Daneff went 2-3 with an RBI triple.
Emporia State will continue their homestand on Tuesday, March 19 as they host Northwestern Oklahoma at Glennen Field. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
