Midweek Series Against Missouri Western Begins Tuesday for Emporia State Baseball

Baseball | 3/17/2025 2:48:00 PM

MIDWEEK AGAINST MO WEST
Emporia State opens their midweek series against Missouri Western on Tuesday afternoon at Trusler. The meeting between the Hornets and Griffons is the first of three matchups this season.

LAST TIME OUT
The Hornets hosted the Hillcats of Rogers State in a three-game series at Trusler as all three games were decided by two or fewer runs. Emporia State took game one in a 14-13 shootout before Rogers State took game two 4-2 on Saturday. In game three, the lead Hornets staved off defeat in the ninth with a two-out pinch-hit home run from Jovanni Toledo to force extras and then again climbed out of a deficit in the tenth with a walk-off two-run home run by Brady Unrein to win the series finale 9-8.

A LOOK AT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 10-10 this season and 3-6 in the MIAA after taking the series against Rogers State in their last time out. The Hornets are hitting .282 as a team through the first 20 games and .356 over the last two weeks. Four players are hitting .329 or better on the season, including Dominic Felix and Peyton Lewis who are batting .397 and .361 respectively. Lewis has a team-high five home runs and 1.107 OPS which both rank inside the top 15 in the MIAA. Noah Steele is batting .353 and has driven in a team-high 14 runs. TJ Racherbaumer has a .329 average and .460 OBP as he leads the way with 12 walks. In the series finale against the Hillcats, Racherbaumer recorded his 171st career hit, placing him seventh all-time in Hornet baseball history. On the mound, the Hornets have a 6.59 ERA are led by weekend starters Seth Stover and Cade Barton who have combined for 43 strikeouts and just five walks over 55.0 innings pitched.

SCOUTING THE GRIFFONS
Missouri Western is 3-18 this season and 2-10 in the MIAA with six conference games against Central Missouri and Fort Hays State who currently sit as the top two in the MIAA standings. The Griffons are led offensively by four players who are hitting at .295 or better. Blake Venneman has a team-high .344 batting average and .451 OBP. Anthony Taggart, Frank Gall, Quinn Gundelfinger and Jackson Bryant all have double-digit RBI on the season, with Gundelfinger driving in a team-high 20 runs. On the mound, the Griffons have just a 7.92 ERA and allowed a .298 opponent batting average on the season.

UP NEXT
Emporia State will wrap up their spring break home stand with a three-game series against Newman on March 21-23 at the Trusler Sports Complex.

TOP OF THE HILL
Brad Hill is in his second season at the helm of the Hornet Baseball program and has a 32-38 record. Hill has a career record of 918-520-3 in 28 seasons leading UCM, Kansas State and Emporia State. In his career, Hill has taken 13 teams to the NCAA Tournament, nine trips with the Mules and four with the Wildcats. At Central Missouri, Hill made nine NCAA Tournament trips in nine seasons with seven Division II World Series appearances, including the 2003 National Championship.
He moved from Warrensburg to Manhattan following the 2003 national championship and would lead K-State to four NCAA Regional Tournaments and the Wildcats first ever Super Regional berth in 2013.  He was named the ABCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year in 2009 as the Bat Cats advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
A proven producer of talent, Hill has coached 64 players that were selected in the MLB Draft with 46 at Kansas State and 18 in nine years at Division II Central Missouri.
Hill was a three-time All-American in 1982-84 for the Hornets and is the career record holder in games played (244), home runs (47), and RBI (264), while also ranking second in career doubles, at-bats and base hits in Hornet baseball history.

900 AND COUNTING
Brad Hill currently has 916 wins in his 28th season as a head coach at the Division I and II levels. Hill is the winningest coach at both Central Missouri and Kansas State with 418 and 468 wins at each program. His 448 wins across his years at Central Missouri and in two years at Emporia state ranks eighth in MIAA history.

BEHIND THE PLATE
TJ Racherbaumer (Sr./Herrmann, Mo.) is in his fourth season with the Hornets and has played in 165 career games. Racherbaumer has played in all 20 games this season, making 19 starts and 17 behind the plate. He is batting .329 on the season, with four home runs, four doubles and a team-high 12 walks and 16 runs scored. Racherbaumer has drawn 104 career walks, which ranks fourth in Emporia State history. He also ranks sixth in career at-bats and seventh in hits while nearing the top ten in home runs, doubles, and games played.
Dylan Brisbois (R-So./Omaha, Neb.) has started four games, and played in six games this season. Brisbois is batting .267 and has reached base in six of 17 plate appearances.
Austin Lynn (R-Fr./North Las Vegas, NV) has made four and played in six games after redshirting in 2024. Lynn has reached base four times, a walk and a run scored.

AROUND THE HORN
First Basemen/Designated Hitter Jovanni Toledo (So./Tucson, Ariz.) has started 13 games for the Hornets and played in 15 games this season. Toledo has two home runs and 13 RBI, including a game-tying, pinch-hit homer in the ninth inning of the series finale against Rogers State.
Second Basemen Logan Myers (So./Pittsburg, Kan.) is coming off a 2024 season where he was named MIAA Co-Freshman of the Year after hitting .301 with a .431 OBP last season. Myers is batting .261 this season and has four home runs, 12 RBI, seven extra-base hits and 15 runs scored. 
Infielder Peyton Lewis (Sr./Kansas City, Mo.) is in his first season with the Hornets after previously playing at Baker and Bluefield State. Lewis is batting .361 across 17 games played and has a team-high five home runs, 1.107 OPS, and .689 slugging percentage. Lewis has three home runs and ten RBI in his last four games.
Infielder Brady Unrein (Fr./Wichita, Kan.) is in his first season with Emporia State and has made 16 starts at shortstop. Unrein has four home runs, ten RBI, two doubles and 13 runs scored and delivered the walk-off two-run home run in the series finale against Rogers State.
Utility Andy Pacheco (R-Fr./Tucson, Ariz.) has made nine starts across three positions to start the season and played in 16 games. Pacheco has six hits and seven RBI on the season.
Utility Dominic Felix (Jr./Tucson, Ariz.) is in his first season with the Hornets and has started 16 games and is batting .397 with three home runs, eight RBI, five doubles and 12 runs scored while reaching base at a .433 clip. Felix has also posted a team-high eight multiple hit games and has reached base in 15 of his last 16 games played.
Utility Sammy Padilla (RS-Fr./Tucson, Ariz.) has played in 11 games and made nine starts, including eight of the last nine games over the past three weeks. Padilla has started at second base, left field and center field in his six starts and is batting .308 while driving in six runs and scoring seven of his own.
Outfielder Noah Steele (Jr./Prairie Village, Kan.) has made 18 starts and played in 19 games in his first season with the Hornets and has settled into the heart of the order for Emporia State. Steele has three home runs, 14 RBI, five doubles, 13 runs scored and 24 hits. Steele has also reached base in 14 of the last 16 games.
Outfielder Elijah Reeves (Jr./Casper, Wyo.) has started 11 games in centerfield in his first season at Emporia State, Reeves is batting .267, but has drawn eight walks and seven HBP as he has a team-high .511 OBP in 45 plate appearances.
Outfielder Cooper Schwindt (Jr./Shawnee, Kan.) has started 19 games in the corner outfield positions in his first season with the Hornets and is batting .299 with five doubles, three home runs, 13 RBI and a .388 OBP in 78 plate appearances. 

ON THE MOUND
Seth Stover (So./Columbus, Kan.) is in his second season with the Hornets and has 19 career appearances and 17 starts. Stover has made six starts this season and has pitched a team-high 33.0 innings in his six outings, including 20.0 across his last two starts, with just two earned runs allowed while tallying 12 strikeouts. Stover also ranks in the top ten in the MIAA in innings pitched, ERA and walks allowed.
Cade Barton (Sr./Omaha, Neb.) is in year four with the Hornets and has 42 career appearances with six this season. In 2024, Barton earned Honorable Mention All-MIAA despite suffering a late season injury as he posted a 3.18 ERA in 62.1 innings pitched. Barton has pitched 22.0 innings this season as he progresses back from injury, and has pitched 16.0 innings with 16 strikeouts in his last three starts.
Gerardo Grijalva (Jr./Tucson, Ariz.) is in his first season with the Hornets and made his first career start last weekend in the first game against Hillsdale, and went 5.1 innings allowing two earned runs on four hits with two strikeouts.
Ian Lanik (Sr./Eagle, Neb.) is in year three with the Hornets and has pitched in 38 career games. This season, all nine of Lanik's appearances have come out of the bullpen as he has picked up four saves on the season, which ranks third in the MIAA and he has pitched 12.1 innings with 17 strikeouts.
Eli Hernandez (Sr./Ontario, Calif.) is in his second season with the Hornets and made 18 relief appearances in 2024. In his five appearances this season, Hernandez has pitched 20.0 innings and has 24 strikeouts, including a season-high six strikeouts against Hillsdale. 
Graeme Rios (Jr./Houston, Texas) has made six appearances in his first season with the Hornets, including two starts. Rios' first outing came in the season opener against MSU Denver as he pitched 3.0 scoreless relief innings and he has pitched 19.1 innings, while picking up three wins which is tied for sixth in the MIAA this season.
Trent Warstler (Sr./Celina, Texas) has made five starts this season and has pitched 18.0 innings in his five outings. Warstler has struck out 11 batters this season and has 53 strikeouts across 21 appearances the last two seasons for the Hornets.
Tanner Dawe (Sr./London, Ontario) has 17 career appearances and has made four this season. Dawe has totaled 5.1 innings with six strikeouts and a .238 opponent batting average. His first appearance was an eight-out save against East Central on opening weekend.
Grant Huffman (Sr./Lee's Summit, Mo.) is in his third season at Emporia State and has 17 career appearances with four this season. Huffman has pitched 7.2 innings in relief, and allowed a .250 batting average with ten strikeouts and has a 1-0 record.
Ryan Sauter (Jr./Olathe, Kan.) has five appearances this season and across 8.2 relief innings, he has seven strikeouts. Against Maryville, Sauter pitched a career-high 4.1 innings with four strikeouts.
Brandon Vassalo (Jr./Santa Fe, Texas) has made four relief appearances for Emporia State in his first season with the program. Vassalo has pitched 4.2 innings and has three strikeouts while allowing a .263 batting average.

HORNET HISTORY
Emporia State is playing their 74th season of baseball in 2025 and have won over 2100 games in the program's history. Since 1994, the Hornets have advanced to the MIAA Tournament in 25 of 30 seasons (excluding COVID shortened season in 2020), including 19 straight trips from 2003-2022. 
The Hornets have also won the MIAA Regular Season Title on six occasions with the most recent coming in 2017 and the first happening in 1993. Emporia State has also won the MIAA Tournament twice with wins in 2007 and 2014. The Hornets have also been runners up in the MIAA Tournament on four occasions. 

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
In addition to the success in the MIAA, the Hornets have had a presence in the NCAA Tournament throughout their time in Division II. The Hornets have 14 NCAA regional appearances, including two Regional Championships which allowed Emporia State to advance to their two NCAA D-II College World Series Appearances. The first appearance happened in 2006 and the second happened in the 2009 season. In 2009, the Hornets advanced to the College World Series final where they fell 2-1 against Lynn. 

NAIA NATIONAL PRESENCE
Prior to their transition to the Division II level in the early 1990's, Emporia State had sustained success at the NAIA level. From 1969 under Jack Smitheran to 1991 in year four under Brian Embery, the Hornets were NAIA District 10 Champions 20 times, including 15 of 16 from 1975 to 1991. 
The success continued through the NAIA Area Tournament, as Emporia State won seven Area 3 Championships, advancing to the NAIA College World Series seven times. After advancing to the NAIA College World Series semifinals for the first time in 1976, the Hornets returned in 1978 as they won the NAIA College World Series with an 8-6 win against Missouri Southern.