April 6, 2024 – Emporia State baseball fell 7-6 against Missouri Western as the Griffons rallied late to walk off game two against the Hornets.
After the first two Hornet hitters were retired in the first, Emporia State was able to load the bases before a groundout ended the scoring threat. In the bottom half, Missouri Western used two hits and an Emporia State fielding error to score two runs and take an early 2-0 lead. Emporia State went scoreless in their half of the second before the Griffons grabbed another run in the bottom half as their lead grew to 3-0.
The Hornets grabbed their first run of the game in the third on an RBI groundout from
Dom Oliverio. Following a flawless inning from Emporia State starter
Graham Brunner, the Hornets added two more runs in the fourth to bring the game level. An RBI fielder's choice from
Logan Myers and a fielding error from the Griffons tied the game 3-3. Brunner held the Griffons scoreless in the bottom of the fourth before Emporia State took their first lead of the game in the fifth.
Dom Oliverio drew a leadoff walk and after moving to second on a wild pitch,
TJ Racherbaumer doubled to give the Hornets a 4-3 advantage.
Both teams got a run in the sixth as a bases loaded walk from
Jovanni Toledo put the Hornets ahead 5-3 before Missouri Western pulled back within a run with a hit-by-pitch in the bottom half.
Following a scoreless seventh inning, Emporia State doubled their advantage with an RBI single from
TJ Racherbaumer to give the Hornets a 6-4 lead. In the bottom of the eighth, Missouri Western used one hit and one error by the Hornets to score two runs and tie the game 6-6.
The Hornets were retired in order in the ninth and in the bottom half, the Griffons got back-to-back singles to begin the inning. After an intentional walk to load the bases with one out, the Hornets got the second out on a force out at home before a wild pitch allowed Missouri Western to get the walk-off 7-6 win over Emporia State.
At the plate, the Hornets were limited to just six hits with
Kadyn Williams and
TJ Racherbaumer each going 2-3 while Racherbaumer drove in two runs.
Logan Myers,
Dom Oliverio and
Jovanni Toledo each an RBI of their own.
Emporia State will take on Missouri Western in the series finale rubber match on Sunday, April 7. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
