March 28, 2025 – Emporia State was locked in a back-and-forth battle on the road against Missouri Southern on Friday afternoon but the Hornets ultimately fell 10-7 against the Lions.
The Hornets got the series started with one run in the first inning, as
Sammy Padilla tallied a one-double and later came in to score on a wild pitch. Missouri Southern brought the game back level in the bottom half, as a two-out double from Leeker tied the game 1-1.
Following a scoreless second inning, RBI singles from
TJ Racherbaumer and
Noah Steele gave the Hornets a 3-1 lead. Emporia State was able to hold off the Lion offense until the fourth inning, as Missouri Southern scored three runs on four hits to take a 4-3 advantage.
In the fifth,
Brady Unrein and
Logan Myers reached base to open the inning, and after a pair of strikeouts,
Cooper Schwindt delivered with a two-out, two RBI single to put the Hornets back in front 5-4. Missouri Southern answered back in the bottom half with three runs as the Lions retook a 7-5 lead.
The back-and-forth battle continued in the sixth, as consecutive one-out doubles from
Peyton Lewis and
Brady Unrein made the score 7-6 and forced a pitching change by Missouri Southern. After the change, a wild pitch moved Unrein to third before he scored on a groundout from
Logan Myers to tie the game 7-7.
Missouri Southern scored three runs over their next two at-bats, taking a 10-7 lead into the eighth inning. Emporia State was unable to reach base in the final two innings, as the Hornets fell 10-7 in the first game of the weekend series in Joplin.
The Hornets had nine hits with
TJ Racherbaumer and
Brady Unrein each recording two of their own.
Cooper Schwindt reached base three times and drove in two runs.
Game two between the Hornets and Lions is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 29.
