Midweek at Missouri Western Up Next For Emporia State Baseball

Baseball | 3/31/2025 4:00:00 PM

Game 29
Emporia State Hornets (16-12, 9-8 MIAA)
at Missouri Western Griffons (7-20, 5-12 MIAA)
Tuesday, April 1 • 4:00 p.m. • St. Joseph, Mo. • Griffon Baseball Field
Series History: ESU leads 114-56 • Last Meeting: ESU 10, MWSU 9 (3/18/25)
The MIAA Network • Live Stats • Complete Notes in PDF
Up Next: at #3 Central Missouri • April 4-6 • Warrensburg, Mo.

QUICK HITS

• Emporia State is coming off a series win at Missouri Southern, their first series win over the Lions since 2020
• The Hornets' series win over the Lions also marks the third consecutive weekend series win for Emporia State, the first time since 2019.
• Emporia State is looking to secure another series win against the Griffons on Tuesday, as the Hornets took game one over Missouri Western 10-9 on March 18 at the Trusler Sports Complex.

MISSOURI WESTERN MIDWEEK ROUND 2
Emporia State travels to St. Joseph, Mo. for a road midweek contest against Missouri Western, the second of three midweek meetings between the Hornets and Griffons this season.

LAST TIME OUT
Emporia State traveled to Joplin, Mo. for a weekend series against Missouri Southern. The Hornets fell 10-7 in game one, but bounced back with a 12-7 win in game two which featured 14 hits and four home runs for Emporia State. In the series finale, the Hornets and Lions were locked in a pitcher's dual, with Cade Barton and Nick Woodcok helping the Hornets come out in front 2-0 to secure the series win over the Lions.

A LOOK AT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 16-12 this season and 9-8 in the MIAA, as the Hornets have won 11 of the last 14 games, while also scoring eight or more runs in ten of those 11 wins since the stretch began. At the plate, Emporia State is batting .287 on the season, and .332 over the last 14 games. Noah Steele leads the way with a .358 average, 28 RBI and seven home runs, while being one of five Hornets with five or more home runs this season. Peyton Lewis is batting .352 and has five home runs, six doubles, 18 RBI and is tied for the team lead with six stolen bases. Dominic Felix, Elijah Reeves, Cooper Schwindt and Sammy Padilla are all batting above .300 as well on the season. TJ Racherbaumer and Logan Myers lead the team in at-bats and have combined to drive in 31 runs and draw 27 walks. On the mound, Emporia State has a 6.64 team ERA and are led by Seth Stover and Cade Barton who are posting 2.76 and 2.80 ERA's respectively. The two have combined for 81.0 innings pitched and have 53 strikeouts to just seven walks allowed. In the bullpen, eight different pitchers have at least five relief appearances, including Ian Lanik who has a team-high 12 appearances and has six saves, the most by a Hornet pitcher since Nathan Whitcomb had 11 in the 2017 season.

SCOUTING THE GRIFFONS
Missouri Western is 7-20 this season and 5-12 in the MIAA and are coming off a series win in their last weekend slate against Washburn, where the Griffons nearly took all three games against the Ichabods. The Griffons are led offensively by five players who are hitting at .293 or better. Anthony has a team-high .341 batting average and .443 OBP. Taggart has six doubles, two homers and is tied with Frank Gall for the team lead with 22 RBI. Gall is batting .309 on the season and has three homers, three triples, and a team-high 23 runs scored. Kaden Doan is batting .298 while Quinn Gundelfinger and Blake Venneman are each batting .293. On the mound, Colby Deaver has been a staple in the midweek, and threw 5.0 innings against the Hornets in the first midweek matchup between the two teams. In relief Jayson Shorb, Jacob Ross and Carson Rosen have double-digit relief appearances while Shorb has 16 strikeouts and just five walks allowed. 

UP NEXT
Emporia State's eight-game road trip will come to a close as they travel to take on #3 Central Missouri from April 4-6 in Warrensburg, Mo.

CLIMB THE HILL
In 2024, Emporia State baseball not only improved their win total by three games from 2023 in the first season under head coach Brad Hill, but improved in a multitude of categories, both offensively and on the mound. The Hornets saw notable jumps in batting average, OPS, OBP and walks while dropping the number of strikeouts. On the mound, the Hornets put together a team ERA nearly 80 below the 2023 mark and dropped the opponent batting average against from .316 to .303.

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK
Emporia State's series win over Missouri Southern last weekend was the third consecutive weekend series win for the Hornets after previously beating #23 Rogers State and Newman the two weekends prior. For the Hornets, the back-to-back-to-back series wins mark the first time since the 2019 season that Emporia State has won three consecutive series' over MIAA opponents.

STINGER SWEEP
In addition to winning the series against Newman at the end of spring break, the Hornets' 10-5 win in the series finale against the Jets clinched the first series sweep for Emporia State since the 2021.

RANKED MATCHUPS
Emporia State's ranked win over #23 Rogers State at the Trusler Sports Complex was the first series win over a ranked opponent for the Hornets since 2019 when Emporia State took two of three games from #18 Central Oklahoma on the road in Edmond. Following the midweek matchup against #24 Fort Hays State last Tuesday, the Hornets have played four ranked games, the most since the 2023 season.

POWER SURGE
On the season, the Hornets have a team total of 44 home runs, which currently ranks tied for third in the MIAA this season. Five Hornets have hit five or more home runs this season, including freshman shortstop Brady Unrein and junior outfielder Noah Steele who are tied with a team-high seven. As a team, Emporia State has homered three or more times in a game nine times this season, with a season-high six in an 18-11 win over Maryville (3/7).

TOP TEN TJ
Catcher TJ Racherbaumer (Sr./Herrmann, Mo.) is in year four with the Hornets and has played in 173 career games, as he passed Greg Rogers for tenth-most in Emporia State history in the series against Newman. In addition to career games played, Racherbaumer ranks fourth in walks (105), fifth in at-bats (600) and seventh in base hits (178). He also has 23 home runs and 34 doubles in his career, which is near the top ten in both categories.

MY OH MYERS
Infielder Logan Myers (So./Pittsburg, Kan.) is hitting .288 this season with five home runs, 18 RBI and 23 runs scored. His first home run of the season came on the road against Pittsburg State in the series finale and was a grand slam, the second of his two-year career at Emporia State. Myers has ten multi-hit games, including three games with three hits. His ten games with multiple hits leads the Hornets.

BRADY BOMBS
Shortstop Brady Unrein (Fr./Wichita, Kan.) has become a consistent starter at shortstop for the Hornets in his first season, and along with strong defense, has brought a power element to the lineup. Unrein is tied for the team-high with seven home runs and has six in the last 15, including a walk-off, two-run homer in the tenth inning of the series finale against Rogers State.

FIRST IN A DECADE
Infielder Peyton Lewis (Sr./Kansas City, Mo.) is in year one with the Hornets and has made an immediate impact on the Emporia State lineup. Earlier this season, Lewis went 2-4 against Maryville (3/9), beginning a six-game streak of multi-hit games, becoming the first Hornet since Justin Harris in 2015 (7 games) to record more than five in a row. Lewis is batting .352 with 18 RBI this season.

KING FELIX
Utility Dominic Felix (Jr./Tucson, Ariz.) has played both corner infield positions this season and has a .316 batting average in 24 starts. Similar to Lewis, Felix had a stretch of consecutive multi-hit games earlier this season, as he rattled off five in a row, including three games with three hits. Felix has also reached base in 21 of his 24 starts this season.

SPEEDING SAMMY
Utility Sammy Padilla (R-Fr./Tucson, Ariz.) has found his way into the lineup in his second year with the Hornets after redshirting in 2024, and has a .302 average and .493 OBP this season. Padilla has played second base and all three outfield positions and has three stolen bases while also being the lone Hornet with multiple triples on the year.

COOP AND A BLAST
Outfielder Cooper Schwindt (Jr./Shawnee, Kan.) has started 27 of 28 games for Emporia State in his first year with the Hornets. Schwindt has six home runs, seven doubles, 23 RBI and a .309 average while also being top three on the team in slugging percentage.

TAKE ME TO THE ER
Outfielder Elijah Reeves (Jr./Casper, Wyo.) has played in 23 games and while he is hitting .311 in 45 at-bats, Reeves has drawn 11 walks and been a ball-magnet, being hit by a pitch eight times en route to a team-high .508 OBP. Reeves has also stolen six bases this season.

STEELE TRAP
Outfielder/First Basemen Noah Steele (Jr./Prairie Village, Kan.) is hitting .358 this season in the heart of the Hornet batting order and is tied for the team-lead with seven home runs while also leading Emporia State with 34 hits, 28 RBI and a 1.061 OPS. Steele has also reached base in 24 of 26 starts this season and has eight-multi hit games.

HOLY TOLEDO
First Basemen Jovanni Toledo (So./Tucson, Ariz.) has three home runs, four doubles and 15 RBI this season. Toledo's biggest hit of the season being a pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the ninth of the series finale against Rogers State, as the Hornets rallied to win the finale 9-8 in ten innings, securing the first ranked series win since 2019.

HOT OFF THE STOVE
Pitcher Seth Stover (So./Columbus, Kan.) has made eight starts this season and is up to 19 starts and 21 appearances in his two seasons with the Hornets. Stover is off to a strong start through the first half of the season, posting a 2.76 ERA in 45.2 innings, while striking out 31 with just six walks allowed. He currently ranks inside the top ten in ERA, innings pitched and walks allowed. Stover has also pitched 5.0 or more innings in six of his eight starts this season and has pitched 7.0 innings in three starts.

CONSISTENT CADE
Pitcher Cade Barton (Sr./Omaha, Neb.) is in year four with the Hornets and has 44 appearances and 29 starts in his Emporia State career. Barton is posting a 2.80 ERA in 35.1 innings this season as he has worked back from an injury suffered in the final month of the 2024 season. BBarton has gone 6.0 or more innings in each of his last three starts, including 7.1 shutout innings against Missouri Southern and has pitched at least 6.0 innings in 11 starts over the past two seasons. 

LATE INNING LANIK
Pitcher Ian Lanik (Sr./Eagle, Neb.) is in year three at Emporia State, and after tallying 29 starts over his first two years with the Hornets, has transitioned to the bullpen in 2025, where he has been a consistent arm at the back end. Lanik has a team-high 12 appearances, and is six for six in save opportunities this season. His six saves are the most in a single season by a Hornet pitcher since Nathan Whitcomb recorded 11 saves in 2017.

GUTTY GRAEME
Pitcher Graeme Rios (Jr./Houston, Texas) has eight appearances and four starts in his first year with Emporia State, including starts in each of the last three Friday games. Rios is 4-1 on the season and has gone 5.0 innings in two of his last three starts. His four wins are tied for sixth-most in the MIAA this season.

G2 TUESDAY
Pitcher Gerardo Grijalva (Jr./Tucson, Ariz.) is in his first year at Emporia State and has three starts this season, including the nod in each of the two MIAA midweek matchups. Grijalva has 11 strikeouts in 13.1 inning while just a .220 opponent 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.

PACK THE PARK
On Saturday, April 12, for game two of the Turnpike Tussle series between Emporia State and Washburn, Emporia State will be hosting Pack the Park at Trusler Sports Complex. The game will begin with a dedication of Turnbull Baseball Field and a first pitch ceremony. In addition, the day will include free admission, $2 hot dogs, ESU promo items and an Easter Egggstravaganza hosted by ESU SAAC.