Going to Kansas City: Emporia State Softball to play midweek game at Rockhurst

Softball | 4/22/2024 3:04:00 PM

Emporia State Hornets (28-19, 12-12 MIAA)
at 
Rockhurst Hawks (16-22, 11-13 GLVC)
Tuesday, April 23 • 4:30 p.m. • Kansas City, Mo. • Loyola Park Field
Series Record: ESU leads 9-4 • Last Meeting: at ESU 6, RU 1 (4/12/23)
Live Stats: esuhornets.com • Video: The GLVC Network Radio: None
Up Next: vs. #23 Washburn
April 27 • 1:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan. • Turnbull Field/Trusler Sports Complex

GOING TO KANSAS CITY
Emporia State travels to Kansas City for the final non-conference game of the regular season at Rockhurst. It will be the first action for the Hornets in ten days.

LAST AT BAT
Emporia State was swept by #9 Pittsburg State on April 13 at the Trusler Sports Complex.  
Pittsburg State used a six run sixth inning to seal a 13-3 win over the Hornets in the opener. Brooke Flewelling was one for two with a home run, a run scored and two RBI while Alexis Dial went one for three with an RBI. 
It was a seven run fourth that provided the big blow in the Gorillas 11-3 win in the nightcap. The top four hitters in the Hornet lineup all had one hit with Emma Furnish and Lexi Williams scoring a run while Alexis Dial had an RBI.
 
THE COACHES
April Rosales is 236-221 in her ninth season at Emporia State. She has taken the Hornets to two MIAA Tournament Championship Games with a win in the 2018 MIAA Tournament. Coach Rosales will not be coaching while on maternity leave. 
Assistant Coach Megan Hill will coach in her absence and is 27-14 as acting head coach this season.
Dana Goss  is 16-22 in her first year at Rockhurst and 229-164 in her tenth year as a head coach. This is her first meeting with Emporia State.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 28-19, 12-12 in the MIAA. They are ranked 18th in the nation in triples. Alexis Dial is 13th in the nation in doubles and 31st in RBI. She leads the MIAA in doubles and total bases while ranking secondin slugging percentage. third in RBI and fourth in batting average in the league. Kelly Hipsher leads the MIAA and is 14th nationally in saves.

ABOUT THE HAWKS
Rockhurst  is 16-22 overall and 11-13 in the GLVC. They are second in the GLVC in stolen bases per game. Maya Gallagher is fifth in the GLVC in triples and leads the Hawks with 15 stolen bases.

SERIES HISTORY
The Hornets lead the series 9-4. Emporia State won the first seven games from 2006-21 before a four game Rockhurst streak in 2021-22. The Hornets won both games last year.

LAST TIME VS. ROCKHURST
Emporia State set the school team record for stolen bases in a season during a double header sweep of Rockhurst. The Hornets scored three runs in the fifth for a 4-2 come from behind victory in the matinee. Emporia State got ahead early and cruised to a 6-1 victory in the nightcap. 

ON DECK
Emporia State plays host to #23 Washburn in the Turnpike Tussle at Trusler. First pitch of the Senior Day is set for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.

IN THE DUGOUT
April Rosales is in her ninth season leading the Emporia State softball program and has a 236-221 record. Since taking over the program in 2016, Rosales has led the Hornets to an MIAA Tournament Championship, two MIAA Tournament title game appearances, and an appearance in the NCAA Central Sub-Regional Championship.
Rosales was also a member of Emporia State softball during her playing days which included an run to the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2008 which resulted in a National Runner-Up finish. During the 2008 season, she hit .324 with 30 RBI while playing nearly every game at shortstop for the Hornets. She was named First Team All-MIAA that season. She is currently on maternity leave after the birth of her son.
Assistant Coach Megan Hill is serving as the acting head coach while Coach Rosales is away on maternity leave. She has gone 27-14 this season. She was a four-time All-MIAA performer, earning first-team honors from 2005-07 at third base. She holds teh Emporia State single season and career RBI records with 73 in 2006 and 216 in her career from 2004-07.

BEHIND THE PLATE
Catcher Bailey Flewelling (Sr./Holton, KS) is in her fourth season at Emporia State and has played in 133 career games with a .314 career batting average. This season Flewelling is batting .373 with a 1.007 OPS and has five home runs, 29 RBI, 12 doubles, a triple and 18 runs scored. She is sixth in the MIAA in doubles. She is the older sister of Hornet Brooke Flewelling.
Ally Miller (Fr./Olathe, KS) has appeared in 11 games with ten behind the dish. She is batting batting .125 with a walk and a run scored.

IN THE FIELD
Outfielder Alexis Dial (Sr./Topeka, KS) is in her fourth season at Emporia State and has played  in 190 games with a .318 career batting average. This season, Dial is batting .428 with 18 doubles, four triples, eight home runs, 53 RBI, 35 runs scored, and 13 stolen bases. She is 13th in the nation in doubles, 31st in RBI, and 34th in total bases. She is leading the MIAA in doubles, ranks second in slugging percentage and OPS, is third in RBI and sac flies, fourth in batting average and hits, and seventh in on base percentage and home runs.
Outfielder Lexi Williams (Sr./Hutchinson, KS) is in her third season at Emporia State and is a career .314 hitter in 149 games. She is batting .362 in 46 games this season with five doubles, four triples, 16 RBI and 42 runs scored. She is eighth in the MIAA in runs scored and trioles, while ranking ninth in steals and hits.  
Outfielder Emma Furnish (Sr./Goddard, KS) is in her fourth season with the Hornets and has appeared in 191 games with a career .300 batting average. This season she is batting .328 with 24 RBI, 34 runs, eight doubles, four triples and three home runs. She has 18 outfield assists in her career. She is third the MIAA in sac flies and is eighth in the league in triples.
Outfielder Juliana De Luna (Fr./San Antonio, TX) is in her first season at Emporia State and has played in 28 games with seven starts. She has five RBI, 11 runs scored, two walks and four stolen bases.

AROUND THE HORN
Shortstop Abbey Ward (Gr./Olathe, KS) is in her fifth season with the Hornets and has played in 212 games with 209 starts. This season she is batting .278 with 12 doubles, a triple, three home runs, 40 runs scored, 16 RBI and 25 stolen bases. She leads the MIAA in hit by pitch while ranking sixth in the association in doubles and stolen bases, and ninth in runs scored.  Ward has 127 career stolen bases and broke Morgan Viola's (124 from 2004-07) ESU career record on April 5 against Neb.-Kearney. Her 127 career steals is fourth among active players in Division II while her 42 times being hit by a pitch ranks eighth among active players and her 159 runs scored ranks 25th nationally.
First baseman Haley Garnett (Sr./Olathe, KS) is in her second season with the Hornets and is batting .226 with a .419 on base percentage, four home runs, 18 RBI, 23 runs scored, 30 walks and three stolen bases. She is leading the MIAA and 11th ninth nationally in walks per game.
Second baseman McKensy Glass (Sr./Wichita, KS) is in her fourth season with the Hornets and has played in 157 career games. She has a .271 average with 17 RBI, ten runs scored and a .381 on base percentage this season. She is ninth in the MIAA in getting hit by pitch.  She is batting .389 in the sixth and seventh inning this year with over a third of her RBI coming in those innings.
Third baseman Brooke Flewelling (Fr./Holton, KS) is in her first season with the Hornets and has played in 31 games with 28 starts for the Hornets. She has four doubles, a triple, four home runs, ten runs scored and 14 RBI in her freshman campaign. She is the younger sister of Hornet Bailey Flewelling.
Third baseman/pitcher Josie Harrison (Gr./St. Mary's, KS) is in her fifth year with the Hornets and is a career .309 hitter in 156 games with 17 wins and a 4.25 career ERA in the pitching circle. She is batting .352 with six doubles, a triple, four home runs, 25 RBI and 25 runs scored this season. As a pitcher she is 4-3 with a save and a 4.34 ERA this season. She is the older sister of Hornet Jordan Harrison.
Infielder/designated player Karli Wehunt (Fr./Shidler, OK) is in her first season with the Hornets and has  played in 23 games with 16 starts. She has six RBI, seven runs scored, 12 walks and a .339 on base percentage. 
Infielder/designated player Avery Brewer (Fr./Jenks, OK) is in her first season at Emporia State is batting .300 with three doubles, 12 RBI and seven runs scored in her 24 games played.

IN THE CIRCLE
Pitcher Gracie Rabe (Jr./Rossville, KS) is in her third season with the Hornets and has a team-best 3.05 ERA in 103.1 innings over 24 appearances with 15 starts this season. She is 8-9 and has struck out 59 batters and allowed just 21 walks this season. 
Pitcher Jordan Harrison (Jr./St. Mary's, KS) is in her first season with the Hornets after transferring from Johnson County CC. She is 7-4 with two saves and a 4.85 ERA in 21 appearances with 11 starts. She has tossed 78.0 innings and has a team best 63 strikeouts with just 20 walks allowed. She is seventh in the MIAA in saves.
Pitcher Jayda VanAckeren (Jr./Omaha, NE) is in her third season with the Hornets and has made 19 appearances with 13 starts this season. She is 7-2 with a 5.14 ERA across 61.1 innings pitched. She earned MIAA Pitcher of the Week honors following her outing against Wayne State, a complete game shutout where she allowed just three hits. 
Pitcher Kelly Hipsher (Sr./Olathe, Kan.) is in her second season with the Hornets and has 20 appearances and one start with a 3.98 ERA across 31.2 innings with 22 strikeouts this season. She leads the MIAA and ranked 14th in the nation in saves.
Pitcher Josie Harrison (Gr./St. Mary's, KS) is in her fifth season for the Hornets and has made ten appearances with seven starts this season. She is 4-3 with a 4.34 ERA and a save in 30.2 innings pitched. Harrison also has a .352 batting average with 25 RBI and 25 runs scored at the plate this season.

ON A ROLL
Earlier this season Emporia State had a 15-game winning streak, matching their longest winning streak since the 2012 season where Emporia State won 42 games, including the MIAA Tournament Championship.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Hornets are 12-7 at home this season with four of the seven losses to nationally ranked teams. After winning their final twelve home games of the 2023 season, Emporia State won all five games at the ESU Classic to extend their home winning streak to 17 games. 

OFF AND RUNNING
Emporia State is among the top teams in Division II in stolen bases. After leading the MIAA in steals in seven of the last eight years as well as ranking top ten in the nation in both total steals and steals per game last season, the Hornets are currently 40th in the nation in total steals this season. 
Abbey Ward has been an important part to the success of the Hornets on the bases in her career. Ward led the MIAA last season in stolen bases and ranked second in each of her first two full seasons. She holds the Emporia State career record with 127 career stolen bases. 

HORNET HISTORY
Emporia State has finished as the NCAA Division II National Runners-up twice, in 2006 and 2008. The Hornets have qualified for NCAA Regional play 13 times. The Hornets won the NAIA National Championship in 1983 and 1984 and won the AIAW National Championship in 1980.
The Hornets were MIAA regular season champions four straight years from 2005-08 and MIAA Tournament champions seven straight years running from 2004-10.  In the 21st Century, Emporia State has claimed the regular season title eight times (2005-08, 2010-12, 2014) and the tournament title nine times (2004-10, 2012, 2018).