Softball | 2/6/2025 11:52:00 AM
Games 7-12
Emporia State Hornets (4-2)
vs. Truman State Bulldogs (1-3)
Friday, Feb. 7 • 11:00 a.m. • Bentonville, Ark.
Series History: ESU leads 39-27 •
Last Meeting: ESU 2, TSU 1 (1/31/25)
vs. William Jewell Cardinals (0-0)
Friday, Feb. 7 • 1:30 p.m. • Bentonville, Ark.
Series History: ESU leads 10-8 •
Last Meeting: ESU 9, WJC 5 (2/10/24)
vs. UT-Tyler Patriots (5-0)
Saturday, Feb. 8 • 11:00 a.m. • Bentonville, Ark.
Series History: UTT leads 1-0 •
Last Meeting: UTT 8, ESU 4 (2/13/22)
vs. Arkansas-Monticello Blossoms (3-1)
Saturday, Feb. 8 • 3:30 p.m. • Bentonville, Ark.
Series History: ESU leads 5-3 •
Last Meeting: ESU 6, UAM 3 (2/9/24)
vs. Missouri-St. Louis Tritons (1-3)
Sunday, Feb. 9 • 11:00 a.m. • Bentonville, Ark.
Series History: ESU leads 13-10 •
Last Meeting: ESU 5, UMSL 1 (2/26/23)
vs. Southern Arkansas Muleriders (3-2)
Sunday, Feb. 9 • 1:30 p.m. • Bentonville, Ark.
Series History: ESU leads 4-2 •
Last Meeting: SAU 6, ESU 0 (2/17/19)
BACK TO BENTONVILLE
Emporia State Softball travels to Bentonville, Ark. for six games in the Alvy Early Memorial Classic. The Hornets will be competing in Bentonville for the fifth time in the last seven seasons.
LAST TIME OUT
The Hornets went 4-2 at the Branson Lead-off Classic to start the 2025 season with four of the six games decided by just one run. Emporia State limited their opponents to just a .217 batting average on the weekend as they came away with four wins over Central Region opponents.
ABOUT THE COACHES
April Rosales is 243-224 in her tenth season as the head coach at Emporia State.
Ron Ferrill is 43-69 in his first season at Truman State.
Dustin Combs is 432-439 entering his 19th season at William Jewell.
Mike Reed is 819-151 in his 21st season at UT-Tyler.
Kyle Lem is 95-119 in his seventh season at Arkansas-Monticello.
Chelsey Mulligan is 29-30 in her second season at Missouri-St. Louis.
Jason Anderson 401-143 in his 11th season at Southern Arkansas.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 4-2 on the season after the first weekend in Branson. At the plate, sophomore Kennedy Topping leads the way with a .455 batting average through the opening weekend. Brooke Flewelling, who played in 35 games in 2024 as a freshman, has driven in a team-high seven runs through the first six games. As a team, the Hornets are hitting .253 and reaching base at a .345 rate. Emporia State also continues their ways of aggression on the base paths, as their 13 steals ranks second in the MIAA. In the circle, returners Gracie Rabe, Jordan Harrison and Jayda VanAckeren handled the pitching duties on opening weekend and combined to post a 2.20 ERA with 23 strikeouts and just eight walks allowed. All three have posted a complete game while allowing just one earned run so far this season.
UP NEXT
Emporia State has a week off before playing six games in the Washburn Tournament from Feb. 21-23.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Truman State is 1-3 to start the season after finishing 23-29 last season. The Bulldogs also competed at the Branson Lead-off Classic and fell to the Hornets 2-1 on opening day of the season. Truman State is led offensively by Emily Wood who is batting .462 and recorded a team-high five RBI. Cassie Smith and Caragan Baker are also batting over .300 through the first four games.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
William Jewell is opening their season at the Alvy Early Memorial Classic after finishing 2024 with a 24-32 record and 7-19 record in the GLVC. The Cardinals were slated 13th in the GLVC Preseason Poll.
SCOUTING THE PATRIOTS
UT-Tyler has started the 2025 season 5-0 after going 58-8 last season on their way to winning the national championship. The Patriots are ranked #1 in the NFCA D2 Coaches Preseason Poll and received all 16 first place votes ahead of the 2025 campaign. UT-Tyler is led by Sam Schott who is batting .615 with a team-high eight RBI while Bailey Krolcyzk and JT Smith are both hitting .500. In the circle, Primrose Aholelei was named national pitcher of the week after hurling 22.0 scoreless innings with 28 strikeouts on opening weekend.
SCOUTING THE BLOSSOMS
Arkansas-Monticello is 3-1 after starting their season in Branson last weekend. The Blossoms are hitting just .238 at the plate and are led by Ashlynne Vote who is batting .364 through the first four games. Pitching has been strong for the Blossoms in the early going, as they have allowed just six earned runs in 28.0 innings. Ronnie Johnson has thrown eight scoreless relief innings in her three appearances this season.
SCOUTING THE TRITONS
Missouri-St. Louis has started the season 1-3 after opening the season at the Music City Invite. The Tritons have started strongly at the plate, hitting .358 as a team through their first four games. Courtney Settles has a team-high five RBI while batting .429 and Gwyn Miller is batting .467 and scored four runs with two stolen bases. In the circle, UMSL has allowed a .357 opponent batting average and have issued 16 walks to just 15 strikeouts so far this season.
SCOUTING THE MULERIDERS
Southern Arkansas is 3-2 after a trip south to the Mardi Gras Invitational in Youngsville, LA. The Muleriders picked up wins over #7 Augustana and Hornet rival Washburn while down south and as a team are batting .291 with an OBP of .425. Cassidy Lear is off to a strong start this season, batting .643 and reaching base in 11 of 16 plate appearances through the first five games. In the circle, the Muleriders are allowing opponents to hit just .267 as they have a 3.58 team ERA.
IN THE DUGOUT
April Rosales is in her tenth season leading the Emporia State softball program. Her record as head coach for the Hornets is 243-224. 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.
IN THE FIELD
Catcher Ally Miller (So./Olathe, KS) is batting .333 through the first weekend and has started five games with three behind the plate and two at designated player. Miller has two extra-base hits, two RBI, and a run scored.
Catcher Leslie Ramos (Jr./Grand Island, NE) is in her first season with the Hornets and has started four games with three behind the plate. Ramos is batting .364 with a home run, RBI, and four runs scored while also stealing two bases.
Infielder Haley Garnett (Gr./Olathe, KS) is in year three with the Hornets and has played in 87 games at Emporia State. This season, Garnett has three hits, two runs scored and walk after drawing a team-high 31 walks last season.
Utility Avery Brewer (So./Jenks, OK) played in 25 games for Emporia State last season in her first year with the Hornets and has played in three games this season. Brewer has a triple, RBI and a walk so far this season.
Infielder Kennedy Topping (So./Wichita, KS) has started five games for the Hornets with four coming at second base. Topping has a team-high .455 batting average and has reached base in seven of 13 plate appearances. She has two RBI, one double, one triple and a stolen base.
Infielder Brooke Flewelling (So./Holton, KS) is in year two with the Hornets after playing in 35 games as a freshman, primarily at third base. Flewelling is hitting .235 through the first weekend and has tallied a team-high seven RBI with two doubles, one home run and two runs scored.
Infielder Sydney Wagner (Fr./Buda, TX) has started all six games at shortstop for the Hornets and is batting .294 with five hits and three runs scored while also going 4-4 on steals through opening weekend.
Outfielder Taryn Burkhardt (Jr./Silver Lake, KS) is in her first year with the Hornets and has made a quick impact through the first week, starting all six games in centerfield and posting a .353 batting average. Burkhardt has a team-high five runs scored with three RBI, six hits, six walks and three stolen bases.
Outfielder Juliana De Luna (So./San Antonio, TX) played in 30 games as a freshman last season and has started five games in right field for the Hornets to start 2025. De Luna has four RBI, one walk and a run scored this season.
Outfielder Kinsey Perine (Fr./Rossville, KS) has started all six games in left field to start 2025 and has two hits, one double and a run scored.
IN THE CIRCLE
Senior Gracie Rabe (Sr./Rossville, KS) is in her fourth season with the Hornets and has pitched in nearly 350 innings for Emporia State. Rabe has started 2025 strong, posting a 1.69 ERA in 16.0 innings and has a 2-1 record in the circle. She has posted 11 strikeouts and allowed just four walks while opponents are hitting .217 against her.
Senior Jordan Harrison (Sr./St. Mary's, KS) is in year two at Emporia State and after pitching 88.0 innings last season, has totaled 15.2 innings through the first weekend of 2025. Harrison has allowed just two runs and two walks while striking out 11 batters and allowing a .186 opponent batting average.
Senior Jayda VanAckeren (Sr./Omaha, NE) has made 59 career appearances in the circle for the Hornets and set multiple career-bests in the 2024 season. VanAckeren has started 2025 with a 4.82 ERA and has allowed just a .263 opponent batting average across 9.1 innings pitched. She closed the Branson Lead-off Classic with a one-run complete game against Minnesota Crookston.
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).
