April 5, 2024 – Emporia State rolled past Missouri Western on Friday night to pick up a 14-1 win in eight innings over the Griffons.
In the first inning, the Hornets nearly jumped in front of the Griffons as they loaded the bases with one out before a double play ended the inning.
Cade Barton got the start on the mound for the Hornets and quickly went to work, as he retired the Griffons in order while picking up two strikeouts.
Emporia State would take the lead in the second behind a two-out rally. The Hornets got a one-out single from
Jovanni Toledo and two singles with two outs from
Konner Hatfield and
Logan Myers to load the bases.
Mason Sturdy followed the Myers single with an RBI single to keep the line moving and give the Hornets a 1-0 lead.
Kadyn Williams followed with a bases-clearing double to drive in three and boost the lead to 4-0.
The score remained 4-0 through the fourth inning before the Hornets added to their total with two more runs in the fifth. After two-out singles from
TJ Racherbaumer and
Jovanni Toledo,
Joe Daneff tripled to bring in both runners and extend the Emporia State lead to 6-0. Barton again retired the Griffons in order in the bottom half, adding two more strikeouts to his total before the Hornets added three more runs in the sixth.
The two-out damage continued in the sixth as the
TJ Racherbaumer delivered a two RBI double and
Jovanni Toledo added an RBI single, both with two outs, to push the Emporia State lead to 9-0. Missouri Western grabbed their lone run in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single from Blake Anderson.
Both teams went scoreless in the seventh before the Hornets added five more runs to their total in the eighth. In the eighth, the Hornets managed five runs on no hits as they drew eight walks to increase their lead to 14-1. Barton added one strikeout in the eighth before
Greg Ross picked up the final two outs out of the bullpen.
As a team, Emporia State scored ten runs with two outs and
Kadyn Williams led the charge with four RBI for the Hornets.
Joe Daneff had three RBI while
TJ Racherbaumer drove in two runs of his own.
Jovanni Toledo went 4-4 with three runs scored and reached bases in all five plate appearances.
On the mound,
Cade Barton pitched 7.1 innings and struck out seven batters while allowing just one run.
Greg Ross recorded the final two outs for the Hornets.
Emporia State will take on Missouri Western in game two of the series on Saturday, April 6 in St. Joseph, Mo. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
