March 15, 2025 - Emporia State came up short on Saturday afternoon at Trusler, as the Hornets were unable to climb out of a 3-0 deficit in the late innings, dropping game two of the series against Rogers State 4-2.
Both the Hornets and Hillcats tallied a hit in the first frame but were held scoreless. Rogers State was able to tack on the first run of the game, as a two-out single by Nelson scored Peninger to give the Hillcats a 1-0 lead. The run against Hornet starter
Seth Stover proved to be lone earned run against the sophomore starter in the game.
In the bottom of the second, a two-out single by
Dominic Felix was unable to spark a rally for Emporia State and Rogers State threatened to add to their total against Stover in the third. With one out, the Hillcats had runners on the corners before a ground ball to
Logan Myers at second base turned into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
The scoring was silent through the fourth frame, before Rogers State added to their total. The Hillcats managed two hits and used a Hornet throwing error to add two runs, taking a 3-0 lead. Emporia State put two runners on base in the bottom of the fifth, but again came up empty as they still trailed 3-0.
Seth Stover continued his strong outing, allowing just one more hit over the next two innings to complete his start. The Hornets would break onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh, as
Dominic Felix lifted a solo home run to left field, his third of the season, to cut the deficit to 3-1.
Stover made way for
Ryan Sauter in the eighth, and Sauter picked up a pair of strikeouts but the Hillcats were able to scratch across another run, extending their lead to 4-1.
In the bottom of the eighth, Emporia State nearly rallied with two outs as they picked up a run on an RBI single by
Noah Steele to make the score 4-2, but a groundout ended the inning with the go-ahead run at the plate. Sauter retired the Hillcats in order in the ninth, and the Hornets brought the tying run to the plate but were unable close the gap, falling 4-2 against Rogers State in game two.
Seth Stover pitched 7.0 innings and allowed three runs with just one earned while striking out five. For Stover, it is his third consecutive outing of at least 6.0 innings and one or fewer earned runs.
At the plate, the Hornets managed just eight hits, including three from
Dominic Felix and two from both
Peyton Lewis and
Noah Steele. The rubber match of the weekend series between the Hornets and Hillcats is set for 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 16 at the Trusler Sports Complex.
