Homestand Wraps Up Against Riverhawks For Hornet Baseball

Baseball | 3/21/2024 1:32:00 PM

Emporia State Hornets (14-14, 5-8 MIAA)
vs. Northeastern State Riverhawks (13-14, 4-9 MIAA)
Friday, March 22 • 3:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan. • Glennen Field
Saturday, March 23 • 2:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan. • Glennen Field
Sunday, March 24 • 12:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan. • Glennen Field
Series Record: ESU leads 19-14 • Last Meeting: ESU 7, NSU 4 (2/25/23)
Live Stats: esuhornets.com • Video: The MIAA Network
Up Next: at Pittsburg State • March 26 • Pittsburg, Kan.

HORNETS HOST RIVERHAWKS
Emporia State takes on Northeastern State in a three-game slate at Trusler Sports Complex.

LAST TIME OUT
Emporia State dropped a midweek matchup against Northwestern Oklahoma 13-8 on Tuesday afternoon. 

THE COACHES
Brad Hill is 14-14 in his first season as the Hornets head coach and has a career record of 900-496-3.
Sunny Golloway is 13-14 in his first season at Northeastern State.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is in their first season under head coach Brad Hill and the Hornets are 14-14 on the season and 5-8 in the MIAA. Seven pitchers have made seven or more appearances with Cade Barton and Ian Lanik each having seven starts and 38 or more innings pitched. They have 37 and 36 strikeouts respectively. At the plate, Kadyn Williams has a team-high .386 average with 39 hits, 16 extra-base hits, and 37 RBI with six steals. Patryk Hernandez and Logan Myers are hitting .333 and .321 respectively while Myers leads the Hornets with 21 walks. Williams has a team-high seven home runs, including three last week against Pittsburg State.

SCOUTING THE RIVERHAWKS
Northeastern State is 13-14 this season and 4-9 in the MIAA in Sunny Golloway's first season. The Riverhawks are coming off a series sweep against Newman and are one game behind the Hornets in the MIAA standings. The offense is led Tyson Fourkiller and Gage Williams who are batting .417 and .382 respectively. Williams  is one of five players with four home runs, with one being C.D. White who has a team-high 35 RBI on the season.

SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series 19-14 with the Hornets looking for their first series win since 2019. 

LAST TIME VS. NORTHEASTERN STATE
The Hornets and Riverhawks met last season in Tahlequah, Okla. and after the hosts took the first two games, Emporia State rallied to win 7-4 in the series finale.

UP NEXT
Emporia State hits the road to begin an eight-game road trip that opens with an MIAA midweek matchup at Pittsburg State on Tuesday, March 26. After the matchup with the Gorillas, the Hornets travel to Edmond, Okla. for a three-game set against Central Oklahoma.

TOP OF THE HILL
Brad Hill is in his first season at the helm of the Hornet Baseball program and has a 14-14 record. Hill has a career record of 900-496-3 in 25 seasons leading UCM, Kansas State and Emporia State. 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.

900 AND COUNTING
Brad Hill currently has 900 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 14 wins this season with the Hornets puts him at eighth-most on the MIAA career coaching wins list with 432.

IN THE FIELD
Infielder Kadyn Williams (Jr./Emporia, Kan.) is in his third season with the Hornets and has started all 28 games. Williams is batting .386 with a OBP just south of .500 at .492. Williams has a team-high 37 RBI, which is also tied for the second-highest total in the MIAA. On the season, Williams has five games with four or more RBI, including a three home run, eight RBI performance last week against Pittsburg State. He has also reached base in 26 of 28 games this season.
Infielder Logan Myers (Fr./Pittsburg, Kan.) has played in 24 games for the Hornets in his first season with the program. Myers has also excelled at reaching base, holding an OBP of .480. He also has six multi-hit games and six games with multiple RBI, inlcuding a 4-5, two home run and five RBI game against CSU-Pueblo. 
First Basemen Patryk Hernandez (Sr./Leawood, Kan.) has started all 28 games at first base for the Hornets this season and is second on the team with a .333 batting average. Hernandez has five doubles, five home runs and 21 RBI with a .416 OBP. Through the irst 28 games, Hernandez has set new career-highs in most offensive categories, including hits, doubles, walks and runs scored.
Utility Mason Sturdy (Jr./Wamego, Kan.) has played in 19 or more games in each of his first three seasons with Emporia State. Sturdy has a .397 OBP with five doubles, 13 RBI and 17 runs scored. This season, Sturdy has four games this season with multiple RBI, including two games with two RBI in the last series against Rogers State. 
Shortstop Andrew Rantz (So./Topeka, Kan.) has played in 27 games this season after playing in 47 during his freshman season in 2023. This season,  Rantz has a .317 OBP with four doubles, two home runs, seven RBI, and three stolen bases. 
Outfielder Konner Hatfield (Jr./Hollister, Mo.) is in his first season at Emporia State and has 17 starts and 23 games played for the Hornets. Hatfield has a .411 OBP with three doubles, two home runs, 14 RBI, and 15 walks. On opening weekend, Hatfield went 4-6 against NM Highlands with a career-high six RBI. 
Designated Hitter Austin Hamm (Sr./Olathe, Kan.) has been with the Hornets since 2020 and has played in a career-high 21 games this season while setting career marks in several offensive categories. Hamm has a .266 average and .356 OBP this season with five home runs, five doubles, 15 RBI, 20 runs scored and nine walks. He has six multi-hit games this season, including a three-hit game against NM Highlands and a four RBI game against Washburn. 
Outfielder Drew Jennings (Jr./Overland Park, Kan.) has played in 20 games this season and has a .421 OBP with 16 hits, eight RBI and 15 runs scored. Jennings has five multi-hit games this season and three games with two RBI, including two in the last game against Northwestern Oklahoma.
Outfielder Dom Oliverio (Fr./Noblesville, In.) is in his first season at Emporia State and played in 19 games for the Hornets. Oliverio is batting .277 with a .347 OBP, three home runs, two doubles, one triple, eight RBI, and 13 runs scored. He has a pair of multi-hit games, including a 5-5 game in the series finale against #10 Missouri Southern.
Outfielder Joe Daneff (Sr./Kansas City, Mo.) is batting .250 with a .391 OBP and has three home runs, seven extra-base hits, 16 RBI, and 11 runs scored. Against Upper Iowa (3/5), Daneff went 2-2 and recorded a career-high five RBI in the Hornets 12-0 win.

BEHIND THE PLATE
Catcher TJ Racherbaumer (Jr./Hermann, Mo.) has played in 125 career games for the Hornets in his three seasons at Emporia State. This season, Racherbaumer is batting .278 with a .416 OBP and has four home runs, 22 RBI, 16 walks and 22 runs scored. Racherbaumer has six multi-hit games  this season, including two in the series win against Northwest Missouri. In his freshman season in 2022, he was named the MIAA Freshman of the Year, hitting .362 with 41 RBI, ten home runs and 17 doubles. 
Catcher Dylan Brisbois (So./Omaha, Neb.) is in his second season with the Hornets and has made seven appearances. He has reached base in eight of 25 plate appearances and has five hits, including a 2-4 game against Upper Iowa (3/4) which included his first career home run.

ON THE MOUND
Right-handed pitcher Ian Lanik (Jr../Eagle, Neb.) has made seven starts and has a 4.74 ERA across 38.0 innings pitched. Lanik was named MIAA Co-Pitcher of the Week following a complete game shutout against Colorado School of Mines. Last season, Lanik pitched 67.0 innings pitched across 16 appearances with 43 strikeouts while recording five wins, two complete games and one save as he was named Honorable Mention All-MIAA.
Right-handed pitcher Cade Barton (Jr./Omaha, Neb.) has a 3.35 ERA across a team-high 43.0 innings pitched with 37 strikeouts and just 11 walks allowed. In 2023, Barton recorded 31 strikeouts in 35.1 innings pitched. 
Left-handed pitcher Graham Brunner (Sr./Sherwood Park, Alberta) is 1-1 this season with 22 strikeouts and nine walks allowed in 19.0 innings pitched. In 2023, Brunner made 13 appearances with 12 starts and recorded 43 strikeouts in 55.1 innings pitched.
Right-handed pitcher Tanner Dawe (Jr./London, Ontario) has seven relief appearances in his first season with the Hornets and has a 4.38 ERA across 12.1 innings pitched with a 3-0 record. Against CSU-Pueblo (2/18), Dawe pitched four innings in relief with a career-high five strikeouts. 
Right-handed pitcher Hayden Baumwart (Sr./Emporia, Kan.) has made a team-high nine apperances this season and has 28 appearances in his Hornet career. This season, Baumwart has pitched a career-high 15.1 innings and has eight strikeouts while allowing a .226 opponent batting average. He has a 2-1 record this season and has not allowed an earned run in his last four outings.
Right-handed pitcher Trent Warstler (Jr./Celina, Texas) is in his first season with the Hornets is tied for second with eigth reliefe appearances. Warstler has a 1-1 record and a 5.48 ERA across 21.1 innings pitched while striking out 21 batters with just six walks allowed. On opening weekend, in his first career appearance, Warstler went 4.1 innings and struck out seven against Oklahoma Baptist.
Right-handed pitcher Eli Hernandez (Jr./Ontario, Calif.) is in his first season with the Hornets and has seven relief appearances while totaling 14.1 innings pitched with 16 strikeouts and just three walks allowed. In a four-inning outing in the series finale against Washburn (3/3), Hernandez recorded a career-high seven strikeouts.
Right-handed pitcher Greg Ross (Jr./Sarnia, Ontario) is in his second season at Emporia State and has made 22 career apperances with five starts. This season, Ross three starts and seven appearances and has 17 strikeouts in 19.1 innings pitched. In 2022, Ross made 15 appearances and led Emporia State with five saves.
Right-handed pitcher Will Hann (Sr./Olathe, Kan.) has pitched 2.2 relief innings across three appearances and has two strikeouts. Hann pitched 31.1 innings in the 2023 season, his first with the Hornets. Hann totaled 18 strikeouts and allowed just four walks, posting a 3.45 ERA in 20 relief appearances last season.
Right-handed pitcher Brady Beverman (Jr./Olathe, Kan.) is in his first season at Emporia State and is tied with Warstler for second most appearances on the Hornet pitching staff. This season, Beverman has nine strikeouts in 13.1 innings pitched. In the last game against Northwestern Oklahoma, Beverman recorded three strikeouts in two innings against the Rangers.
Right-handed pitcher Seth Stover (Fr./Columbus, Kan.) is in his freshman season with the Hornets and has pitched 18.1 innings through his first five career appearances and has 14 strikeouts and just four walks allowed with a 2-3 record. Against Upper Iowa (3/4), Stover pitched a career-high 6.0 scoreless innings and matched his career-high with four strikeouts. 
Right-handed pitcher Jake Shaults (Jr./Towanda, Kan.) has made five relief appearances in his first season with the Hornets. Shaults has tallied 6.0 innings ptiched with seven strikeouts. Against Northwest Missouri (2/23), Shaults recorded a career-high four strikeouts in two scoreless innings of relief.

HISTORY
Emporia State has advanced to the NCAA Tournament 14 times in the program's history. The Hornets have captured the regular season MIAA championship on six occasions and have won the MIAA Tournament title twice.