April 9, 2024 – Emporia State baseball fell 6-5 against Pittsburg State on Tuesday night in the finale of the MIAA midweek series between the two teams.
Seth Stover started on the hill for the Hornets worked around a hit in each of the first two innings to keep the Gorillas off the scoreboard before Emporia State scored three in the bottom of the second to take the lead. In the bottom half,
TJ Racherbaumer and
Jovanni Toledo reached on a hit-by-pitch before a walk to
Joe Daneff loaded the bases for Emporia State. Pittsburg State picked up the first out following a pitching change but with one out,
Logan Myers singled through the right side to drive in a pair of runs.
Mason Sturdy followed Myers with an RBI single of his own which capped off the three-run second inning.
Emporia State maintained their 3-0 lead through the fourth inning, as
Greg Ross pitched a scoreless third and fourth out of the bullpen. Pittsburg State was able to grab three runs in the fifth which brought the game level at 3-3. The score stuck at 3-3 until the top of the seventh when the Gorillas grabbed two more runs on an RBI groundout and a defensive error by the Hornets. With one out in the bottom half,
Dom Oliverio cut the deficit in half with a solo home run, his fourth of the season.
The Hornets got a scoreless inning of relief in the top of the eighth from
Grant Huffman in just his second appearance this season. With two outs in the bottom eighth,
Patryk Hernandez delivered an RBI single to tie the game 5-5, scoring
Logan Myers, who led off the frame with a single.
Pittsburg State regained the lead with an RBI single by Blake Mozley in the top of the ninth and in the bottom of the ninth, the Hornets got two runners on with one out but were unable to pull level as Emporia State fell 6-5 against the Gorillas.
At the plate, four different Hornets posted multi-hit games including
Logan Myers and
Jovanni Toledo who each had three hits on the night while Myers drove in two runs.
Patryk Hernandez and
Dom Oliverio each had two hits and an RBI of their own.
Mason Sturdy reached base twice and drove in a run as well.
Emporia State will remain home into the weekend as they are set to host #2 Central Missouri at Trusler Sports Complex. Game one between the Hornets and Mules is set for Friday, April 12 with first pitch scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
