Softball | 3/6/2025 3:55:00 PM
Games 22-25
Emporia State Hornets (14-7, 0-0 MIAA)
at #6 Rogers State Hillcats (14-3, 0-0 MIAA)
Friday, March 7 • 2:00 p.m. (DH) • Claremore, Okla. • RCB Bank Sports Complex
Series History: RSU leads 9-3 •
Last Meeting: RSU 3, ESU 2 (3/16/24 - 8 inn.)
at Northeastern State Riverhawks (5-9, 0-0 MIAA)
Saturday, March 8 • 12:00 p.m. (DH) • Tahlequah, Okla.
Series History: ESU leads 36-26 •
Last Meeting: ESU 8, NSU 7 (3/15/24)
UNDERWAY IN THE MIAA
Emporia State begins conference play with a Sooner State road trip as they take on #6 Rogers State and Northeastern State this weekend.
LAST TIME OUT
The Hornets traveled to Shawnee for a four-game slate in the Top Gun Midwest Classic where the Hornets went 3-1 on the weekend. Emporia State opened the trip with a 14-5 run-rule win over Maryville which included four RBI from Kinsey Perine and three from Haley Garnett. The Hornets then capped off Saturday with a 5-4 win over Minnesota State which included the first career save for Gracie Rabe, as she stranded the tying run on third in the seventh inning. Rabe returned to the circle against Rockhurst on Sunday to pitch a complete game shutout against the Hawks. The win over Rockhurst extended the Hornets' winning streak to seven games before Emporia State fell in the weekend finale against #5 Augustana.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State enters the weekend with a 14-7 record, and have won eight of ten games over the past two weeks. The Hornets are hitting .303 as a team through the first 21 games, an average that ranks fifth in the MIAA this season. Six Hornets with at least 40 at-bats are hitting over .300, including Taryn Burkhardt who is batting .349 with a team-high .494 OBP. Burkhardt has also drawn 18 walks which leads the MIAA and stolen 13 bases which ranks inside the top five. Brooke Flewelling has a team-high five home runs, five doubles and 21 RBI while reaching base at a .391 clip. In the circle, the Hornets use a trio of seniors in Gracie Rabe, Jordan Harrison and Jayda VanAckeren, while Rabe and Harrison both have over 50.0 innings pitched this season. Harrison has a pitched a team-high 56.2 innings with 53 strikeouts and holds a 7-1 record. Rabe has posted similar numbers with 45 strikeouts in 52.1 innings and both are holding opponents to a .234 batting average or below.
SCOUTING THE HILLCATS
Rogers State is 14-3 to begin the 2025 season, and have won 11 straight since a slow start at the Gulf Shores Invitational on opening weekend. The Hillcats are ranked #8 in the latest NFCA Coaches Poll and are in year ten under head coach Andrea Vaughan and have won 45 or more games in each of the past three seasons, including 58 in 2022 as Rogers State won the national championship. This season, Rogers State is hitting .361 as a team, which leads the MIAA, as four players are hitting above .400. Senior Abbey Rogers has headlined the Hillcat offense in the early going, as she is hitting .543 with three home runs, 14 RBI, 17 runs scored and an OBP north of .600. In the circle, Rogers State's pitching staff is centered around three players, as Jade Sanders, Harley Culie, and Torie Sandoval have all pitched over 22.0 innings this season. Sanders, has a 1.83 ERA in a team-high 38.1 innings with 35 strikeouts.
SCOUTING THE RIVERHAWKS
Northeastern State is 5-9 this season and are in year two under head coach Rachel Rhode, who is looking to improve the Riverhawks win total from ten in year one last season. The Riverhawks rank seventh in the MIAA in batting average, fifth in home runs and fourth in slugging percentage. The offense is led by senior Madison Heinle who is batting .424 with three home runs, nine RBI and a .441 OBP, which all lead the Riverhawks. Maddie Messenger is batting .324 and has scored a team-high 11 runs while hitting three home runs of her own. In the circle, Heinle is one of three pitchers with six appearances on the season, as she has recorded a team-high 20 strikeouts. Gracie Turner has pitched a team-high 27.0 innings and has a 2-1 record.
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 253-229. 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 .293 through the first 17 games and has started 11 games with eight behind the plate and three at designated player. Miller has two doubles, a triple, five RBI and a .361 OBP.
Catcher Leslie Ramos (Jr./Grand Island, NE) is in her first season with the Hornets and has started 11 games with nine behind behind the plate. Ramos is batting .375 with a home run, six RBI, and six runs scored while also stealing three bases.
Infielder Haley Garnett (Gr./Olathe, KS) is in year three with the Hornets and has played in 98 games at Emporia State. This season, Garnett has eight hits, one double, one home run, four RBI and eight walks.
Infielder Kennedy Topping (So./Wichita, KS) has started nine games for the Hornets with seven coming at second base. Topping has a .333 batting average and has reached base in 11 of 27 plate appearances. She has six RBI, one double, one triple and three stolen bases.
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 has been a driving force in the Emporia State offense this season, hitting .291 with five home runs, five doubles and a team-high 23 RBI, which also ranks fourth in the MIAA this season. She joins Alexis Dial from last season as the only Hornets since 2014 with 20 or more RBI within the first 20 games of the season.
Infielder Sydney Wagner (Fr./Buda, TX) has started 20 games at shortstop for the Hornets in her first season, and is batting .328 with 21 hits, six stolen bases and a .394 OBP. Wagner has three doubles, nine RBI, and 11 runs scored.
Outfielder Taryn Burkhardt (Jr./Silver Lake, KS) is in her first year with the Hornets and has made a strong impact at the top of the Emporia State lineup. Burkhardt has started all 21 games in centerfield and is batting .359 with a team-high 16 runs scored and 17 walks drawn, which leads the MIAA, as she has reached base at a .494 clip.
Outfielder Juliana De Luna (So./San Antonio, TX) played in 30 games as a freshman last season and has started 20 games this season in the corner outfield positions. De Luna is batting .317 and has reached base at a .391 clip behind 19 hits, three doubles and three walks RBI. She also has scored 12 runs and driven in ten on the season, one of three Hornets with double-digit RBI this season.
Outfielder Kinsey Perine (Fr./Rossville, KS) has started all 21 games for the Hornets, joining De Luna in the corner outfield positions. Perine is batting .308 on the season and is coming off a strong weekend in Shawnee, where she drove in eight runs in four games, as she is now up to 12 RBI on the season. She also ranks sixth in the MIAA with eigth stolen bases this season.
IN THE CIRCLE
Senior Gracie Rabe (Sr./Rossville, KS) is in her fourth season with the Hornets and has pitched in 381.0 career innings for Emporia State. Rabe has a 3.78 ERA this season across 52.1 innings pitched. She has tallied 45 strikeouts and allowed just nine walks and a .234 opponent batting average. Rabe currently ranks fourth in innings pitched and eighth in strikeouts in the MIAA this season.
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 56.2 innings pitched with a 3.65 ERA in her 14 appearances this season. Harrison has a 7-1 record, including four wins at the Washburn Invitational, and has 53 strikeouts and is allowing a .232 batting average against. Harrison ranks in the top five in the MIAA in wins, strikeouts and innings pitched this season.
Senior Jayda VanAckeren (Sr./Omaha, NE) has made 64 career appearances in the circle for the Hornets and set multiple career-bests in the 2024 season. VanAckeren has pitched 28.0 innings through her first eight appearances in 2025 and holds a 2-1 record.
OFF AND RUNNING
The Hornets have led or finished inside the top three in the MIAA in stolen bases in eight of the last nine seasons and are off to a similar start this season. Emporia State is 44-48 on the base paths through the first 21 games, with their 44 steals ranking second in the association.
HEART STOPPING HORNETS
Emporia State has played in nine one-run games so far this season, and have gone 7-2 in those games, which includes a pair of eight-inning victories. In the first nine years under Rosales, the Hornets finished .500 or better in one-run games eight times, and Emporia State won 11 one-run games in 2024, their most in a single season in Rosales' tenure.
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).
