Senior Day Turnpike Tussle for Emporia State Softball on Saturday

Softball | 4/26/2024 11:21:00 AM

Emporia State Hornets (29-19, 12-12 MIAA)
vs. 
#24 Washburn Ichabods (36-12, 17-7 MIAA)
April 27 • 11:00 a.m. • Emporia, Kan. • Turnbull Field/Trusler Sports Complex
Series Record: ESU leads 97-66 • Last Meeting: at WU 3, ESU 1 (4/29/23)
Live Stats: esuhornets.com • Video: The MIAA Network 
Radio: KFFX 104.9FM • Internet Audio: kvoe.com
Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: MIAA Tournament
May 1-4 • TBA • Edmond, Okla. • Pinkston Stadium

SENIOR DAY TURNPIKE TUSSLE
Emporia State wraps up the regular season with Senior Day Turnpike Tussle against Washburn at the Trusler Sports Complex.

LAST AT BAT
Emporia State jumped in front early and won 4-1 at Rockhurst 4-1 on Tuesday.
Alexis Dial tripled Abbey Ward home for a 1-0 lead. Emma Furnish laid down a bunt and Dial beat the throw home to make it 2-0. Furnish came home on a Bailey Flewelling double to give Emporia State a 3-0 lead after half an inning. In the top of third Dial led off with a walk and scored on Josie Harrison's double. Gracie Rabe would not allow a hit through the first 3.1 innings.  Jordan Harrison came on in relief with two on and one out in the fourth and retired the next six batters.  Rockhurst scored one in the bottom of the sixth on a ground out. Kelly Hipsher came on to start the seventh and worked a 1-2-3 inning for her fifth save of the season. Alexis Dial went two for three with two runs and an RBI. 

THE COACHES
April Rosales is 237-221 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 28-14 as acting head coach this season.
Brenda Holaday is 251-144 in her eighth year as head coach at Washburn. She is 11-8 against Emporia State.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 29-19, 12-12 in the MIAA. They are ranked 16th in the nation in triples. Alexis Dial is 14th in the nation in doubles and 32nd in RBI. She leads the MIAA in doubles while ranking second in slugging percentage and total bases, and third in RBI, batting average and triples in the league. Kelly Hipsher leads the MIAA and is 14th nationally in saves.

ABOUT THE ICHABODS
Washburn is 36-12, 17-7 in the MIAA. They are ranked #24 in the NFCA Poll and sixth in the Central Region. They are third in the nation in shutouts while ranking sixth in strikeout to walk ratio, eighth in ERA and ninth in fielding percentage. 

SERIES HISTORY
The Hornets lead the all-time series 97-66 with the Ichabods winning the five of the last six meetings.

LAST TIME VS. WASHBURN
Emporia State earned a split against Washburn in their final doubleheader of the season in Topeka. The Hornets won game one 4-2 and fell 3-1 in nine innings in the second game.
 
ON DECK
The ten team single elimination MIAA Tournament begins on Wednesday, May 1 with first round games in Edmond, Okla. The #7-10 seeds will play on Wednesday with the quarter finals on Thursday, semis on Friday and Championship game on Saturday at UCO's Pinkston Stadium.

IN THE DUGOUT
April Rosales is in her ninth season leading the Emporia State softball program and has a 237-221 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 28-14 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 134 career games with a .314 career batting average. This season Flewelling is batting .372 with a 1.006 OPS and has five home runs, 30 RBI, 13 doubles, a triple and 18 runs scored. She is fifth in the MIAA in doubles. She is the older sister of Hornet Brooke Flewelling.
Ally Miller (Fr./Olathe, KS) has appeared in 12 games with ten behind the dish. She is batting batting .125 with two walks 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 191 games with a .321 career batting average. This season, Dial is batting .432 with 18 doubles, five triples, eight home runs, 54 RBI, 37 runs scored, and 14 stolen bases. She is 15th in the nation in doubles, 31st in total bases, 33rd in triples and 34th in RBI. She is leading the MIAA in doubles, ranks second in slugging percentage and OPS, is third in batting average, RBI, triples and sac flies, fourth in on base percentage and hits, and eighth in home runs.
Outfielder Lexi Williams (Sr./Hutchinson, KS) is in her third season at Emporia State and is a career .311 hitter in 150 games. She is batting .353 in 47 games this season with five doubles, four triples, 16 RBI and 42 runs scored. She is eighth in the MIAA in runs scored while ranking ninth in steals and triples.  
Outfielder Emma Furnish (Sr./Goddard, KS) is in her fourth season with the Hornets and has appeared in 192 games. This season she is batting .323 with 25 RBI, 35 runs, eight doubles, four triples and three home runs. She has six outfield assists this year and 18 in her career. She is third the MIAA in sac flies and ninth 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 29 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 213 games with 210 starts. This season she is batting .274 with 12 doubles, a triple, three home runs, 41 runs scored, 16 RBI and 26 stolen bases. She leads the MIAA and is 37th in the nation in hit by pitch while ranking sixth in the association in doubles and stolen bases, and ninth in runs scored.  Ward has 128 career stolen bases and broke Morgan Viola's (124 from 2004-07) ESU career record on April 5 against Neb.-Kearney. Her 128 career steals is third among active players in Division II while her 43 times being hit by a pitch ranks ninth among active players and her 162 runs scored ranks 27th nationally.
Second baseman McKensy Glass (Sr./Wichita, KS) is in her fourth season with the Hornets and has played in 158 career games. She has a .265 average with 17 RBI, nine runs scored and a .379 on base percentage this season. She is seventh in the MIAA in getting hit by pitch.  She is batting .368 in the sixth and seventh inning this year with over a third of her RBI coming in those innings.
First baseman/pitcher Josie Harrison (Gr./St. Mary's, KS) is in her fifth year with the Hornets and is a career .310 hitter in 157 games with 17 wins and a 4.25 career ERA in the pitching circle. She is batting .351 with seven doubles, a triple, four home runs, 26 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.
Third baseman Brooke Flewelling (Fr./Holton, KS) is in her first season with the Hornets and has played in 32 games with 29 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.
Infielder/designated player Avery Brewer (Fr./Jenks, OK) is in her first season at Emporia State is batting .290 with three doubles, 12 RBI and seven runs scored in her 25 games played with 20 starts.
First baseman Haley Garnett (Sr./Olathe, KS) is in her second season with the Hornets and is batting .223 with a .416 on base percentage, four home runs, 18 RBI, 23 runs scored, 30 walks and three stolen bases. She is leading the MIAA and 13th ninth nationally in walks per game.
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. 

IN THE CIRCLE
Pitcher Gracie Rabe (Jr./Rossville, KS) is in her third season with the Hornets and has a team-best 2.95 ERA in 106.2 innings over 25 appearances with 16 starts this season. She is 8-9 and has struck out 62 batters and allowed just 22 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 8-4 with two saves and a 4.77 ERA in 22 appearances with 11 starts. She has tossed 80.2 innings and has a team best 67 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 is 2-1 with a school record five saves this season. She has 21 appearances and one start with a 3.86 ERA across 32.2 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 .351 batting average with 26 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 38th 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 128 career stolen bases. 
As a team the Hornets are 17th in the nation in triples this year.

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).