February 2, 2025 – Emporia State baseball capped off a 3-0 weekend as the Hornets outlasted East Central 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at the Edmond First Pitch Classic.
The Hornets jumped in front of the Tigers in their first turn at the plate as
Jovanni Toledo singled with two outs to score
Brady Unrein who drew a one-out walk earlier in the inning. Emporia State threatened to add more runs as they loaded bases, but a strikeout limited the Hornets to a 1-0 lead in the first.
Seth Stover got the start on the mound for Emporia State and despite a leadoff single by the Tigers, held East Central scoreless in the inning. Both teams were retired in order before East Central pulled level in the bottom of the third on an RBI double from Zac Carroll.
Emporia State quickly responded in the top of the fourth to retake a 2-1 lead.
Cooper Schwindt drew a leadoff walk and after a sac bunt and a passed ball, scored on an RBI single from
Austin Lynn. In the bottom half, the Tigers put pressure on Stover, as they loaded the bases with two outs before being forced to flyout to end the inning.
The Hornets then responded with another run to double their lead in the fifth. After
TJ Racherbaumer drew a walk to start the frame, he came around to score on an RBI single by
Cooper Schwindt to make the score 3-1.
Cade Barton replaced Stover in the fifth inning for his first appearance of the season and despite three hits from the Tigers in the inning, Barton held East Central to just one run as he stranded two runners with a pair of strikeouts to end in the fifth frame.
Following a scoreless sixth from both teams, Emporia State picked up their fourth run of the game in the top of the seventh as
Andy Pacheco drove in
TJ Racherbaumer to make the score 4-2. East Central scored one run in the bottom half cut the Hornet lead in half heading into the final two innings.
Emporia State was unable to extend their lead over the final two innings as the score remained 4-3 as
Tanner Dawe, who entered with two outs in the seventh, was set up for the eight-out save. Dawe retired the Tigers in order in the eighth, and despite a two-out walk in the ninth, he capped the save with a strikeout to seal the 4-3 win for Emporia State.
The Hornets managed nine hits in the game, with
Cooper Schwindt going 3-3 from with an RBI as he reached base in all five plate appearances.
Andy Pacheco went 2-3 with an RBI and
TJ Racherbaumer reached base four times in the game.
On the mound,
Seth Stover allowed one run and five hits in four innings with five strikeouts to start the game.
Cade Barton picked up the win in relief as he struck out two batters in his lone inning of work.
Tanner Dawe picked up his first save as he pitched the final 2.2 innings and allowed just one hit with four strikeouts.
Emporia State's 3-0 start to the season is the best start for the Hornets since 2020. The Hornets will return to action on Thursday, February 6 as they traveled to Arkadelphia, Ark. for the HSU Invitational. First pitch between Emporia State and the hosts Henderson State is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
