Western Swing for Emporia State Softball

Softball | 4/3/2024 8:19:00 PM

Emporia State Hornets (24-15, 8-8 MIAA)
at Fort Hays State Tigers (16-16, 2-8 MIAA)
Thursday, April 4 • 2:00 p.m. (DH) • Hays, Kan. • Fleharty Family Field
Series Record: ESU leads 49-33 • Last Meeting: at ESU 6, FHSU 0 (4/8/23)
Live Stats: esuhornets.com • Video: The MIAA Network FHSU Radio: KAYS 1400AM
at Neb.-Kearney Lopers (13-20, 1-9 MIAA)
Friday, April 5 • 1:00 p.m. (DH) • Kearney, Neb. • Patriot Park
Series Record: ESU leads 28-18 • Last Meeting: at ESU 2, UNK 1 (4/7/23)
Live Stats: esuhornets.com • Video: The MIAA Network UNK Radio: KLPR 91.1FM
Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: vs. Missouri Southern • April 12 • Emporia, Kan.

WESTERN SWING
Emporia State makes their last MIAA road trip of the regular season. The Hornets will play at Fort Hays State on Thursday and at Neb.-Kearney on Friday.

LAST AT BAT
Emporia State split their double header with Northwest Missouri on Saturday afternoon at the Trusler Sports Complex.  The Hornets ran their home field winning streak against the Bearcats to 13 games with a 7-3 come from behind win in the matinee at Turnbull Field.Emporia State had two errors in the game and left five runners on base in the final three innings of a 2-1 loss to Northwest Missouri in the nightcap.
 
THE COACHES
April Rosales is 232-217 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 23-10 as acting head coach this season.
Adrian Pilkington is 210-263-1 in her 10th season at Fort Hays State. He is 7-9 against Emporia State.
Katie Ackermann is 84-119 in her fifth year at Neb.-Kearney.  She is 2-5 against Emporia State.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 24-15, 8-8 in the MIAA. They are ranked in the top 25 nationally in six offensive categories - 13th in hits, 15th in sac flies, 17th in doubles, 19th in stolen bases, and 24th in runs and hit by pitch. Alexis Dial is tenth in the nation in doubles and 15th in RBI. She is second in the MIAA in slugging percentage, fourth in OPS, and fifth in batting average while Abbey Ward is fifth and Lexi Williams is ninth in steals.

ABOUT THE TIGERS
Fort Hays State  is 16-16, 2-8 in the MIAA. Savanah Egger is fifth in the MIAA in strikeouts, eighth in opposing batting average and tenth in ERA.
SERIES HISTORY
The Hornets lead the series 49-33 and have won six of the last eight meetings.
LAST TIME VS. FORT HAYS STATE
The Hornets swept the Tigers 4-3 and 6-0 last year at Trusler.

ABOUT THE LOPERS
Neb.-Kearney is 13-20, 1-9 in the MIAA. MAry Chvatal is seventh in the MIAA in on base percentage and stolen bases.
SERIES HISTORY
The Hornets lead the series 28-18 and have won eight of the last 12 meetings.
LAST TIME VS. NEB.-KEARNEY
The Hornets swept the Lopers 7-2 and 2-1 at Trusler last season.

ON DECK
Emporia State returns to Trusler to take on Missouri Southern on April 12. First pitch of the double header is set for 3:00 p.m.

IN THE DUGOUT
April Rosales is in her ninth season leading the Emporia State softball program and has a 232-217 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 23-10 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 125 career games with a .316 career batting average. This season Flewelling is batting .391 with a 1.064 OPS and has five home runs, 25 RBI, 11 doubles and 16 runs scored. She is third in the MIAA in doubles and ninth in hits. She is the older sister of Hornet Brooke Flewelling.
Ally Miller (Fr./Olathe, KS) has appeared in nine games with eight behind the dish. She is batting batting .143 with a walk and two runs scored.

IN THE FIELD
Outfielder Alexis Dial (Sr./Topeka, KS) is in her fourth season at Emporia State and has played  in 182 games with a .313 career batting average. This season, Dial is batting .430 with 15 doubles, three triples, six home runs, 45 RBI, 29 runs scored, and 13 stolen bases. She is tenth in the nation in doubles, 15th in RBI and sacrifice flies, 20th in total bases and 22nd in hits. She is leading the MIAA in doubles and sac flies, ranks second in slugging percentage, is third in hits, fourth in RBI and OPS, fifth in batting average, and ninth in home runs. 
Outfielder Lexi Williams (Sr./Hutchinson, KS) is in her third season at Emporia State and is a career .312 hitter in 141 games. She is batting .368 in 38 games this season with five doubles, three triples, 14 RBI and 37 runs scored. She is sixth in runs scored and hits, and ranks ninth in triples and stolen bases.  
Outfielder Emma Furnish (Sr./Goddard, KS) is in her fourth season with the Hornets and has appeared in 183 games with a career .297 batting average. This season she is batting .324 with 22 RBI, 27 runs, seven doubles, a triple and three home runs. She has 18 outfield assists in her career. She is leading the MIAA in sac flies.
Outfielder Juliana De Luna (Fr./San Antonio, TX) is in her first season at Emporia State and has played in 26 games with seven starts. She has five RBI, ten 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 204 games with 201 starts. This season she is batting .288 this season with nine doubles, a triple, three home runs, 36 runs scored and 21 stolen bases. She leads the MIAA and is ranked 16th in the nation in hit by pitch while ranking fifth in the association in runs and stolen bases, and seventh in doubles. Nationally she is 16th in hit by pitch and 28th in stolen bases. Ward is second in Emporia State history with 123 career stolen bases and needs two to tie Morgan Viola's (124 from 2004-07) ESU career record. Her 123 career steals is third among active players in Division II while her 42 times being hit by a pitch ranks fifth among active players and her 157 runs scored ranks 19th nationally.
First baseman Haley Garnett (Sr./Olathe, KS) is in her second season with the Hornets and is batting .244 with four home runs, 18 RBI, 22 runs scored, 28 walks and three stolen bases. She is leading the MIAA and ranked 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 149 career games. She has a .278 average with 15 RBI, eight runs scored and a .367 on base percentage this season. She is sixth in the nation in getting hit by pitch.  She is batting .412 in the sixth and seventh inning this year.
Third baseman/pitcher Josie Harrison (Gr./St. Mary's, KS) is in her fifth year with the Hornets and is a career .303 hitter in 148 games with 17 wins in the pitching circle. She is batting .343 with five doubles, a triple, four home runs, 23 RBI adn 20 runs scored this season. As a pitcher she is 4-3 with a save and a 4.03 ERA this season. She is the older sister of Hornet Jordan Harrison.
Infielder/designated player Brooke Flewelling (Fr./Holton, KS) is in her first season with the Hornets and has played in 25 games with 22 starts for the Hornets. She has four doubles, a triple, two home runs, seven runs scored and nine RBI in her freshman campaign. She is the younger sister of Hornet Bailey Flewelling.
Infielder Karli Wehunt (Fr./Shidler, OK) is in her first season with the Hornets and has  played in 16 games with ten starts. She has five RBI, six runs scored, eight walks and a .350 on base percentage. 
Infielder/designated player Avery Brewer (Fr./Jenks, OK) is in her first season at Emporia State is batting .310 with three doubles, 12 RBI and six runs scored in her 23 games played.

IN THE CIRCLE
Pitcher Gracie Rabe (Jr./Rossville, KS) is in her third season with the Hornets and has a team-best 2.81 ERA in 84.2 innings over 19 appearances with 11 starts. She is 6-7 on the season and has struck out 48 batters and allowed just 18 walks this season. 
Pitcher Jayda VanAckeren (Jr./Omaha, NE) is in her third season with the Hornets and has made 16 appearances with 12 starts this season. She is 7-2 with a 4.68 ERA across 58.1 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 Jordan Harrison (Jr./St. Mary's, KS) is in her first season with the Hornets after transferring from Johnson County CC. She is 5-3 with a 5.10 ERA in 17 appearances with nine starts. She has tossed 60.1 innings and has a team best 50 strikeouts with just 15 walks allowed.
Pitcher Kelly Hipsher (Sr./Olathe, Kan.) is in her second season with the Hornets and has 16 appearances with a 3.41 ERA across 26.2 innings with 18 strikeouts in one start. She is second in the MIAA and ranked 23rd in the nation in saves.
Pitcher Josie Harrison (Gr./St. Mary's, KS) is in her fifth season for the Hornets and has has made eight appearances with six starts this season. She is 4-3 with a 4.03 ERA in 24.1 innings pitched. Harrison also has a .326 batting average with 18 RBI and 17 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 10-5 at home this season with two of the five 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
Through the first 39 games of the season, 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 19th in total steals and 39th in steals per game in the nation. 
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 is currently second in program history with 123 career stolen bases. The program record is held by Morgan Viola (2004-07) with 124 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).