April 11, 2025 – Emporia State recorded 19 hits, with six players tallying multi-hit games, as the Hornets took game one of the Turnpike Tussle 14-8 on Friday night at the Trusler Sports Complex.
Graeme Rios got the start on the mound for the Hornets and worked around a pair of two-out base runners to hold the Ichabods scoreless in the opening frame. In the bottom half,
Peyton Lewis got on base with a one-out single and after stealing second and third, came in to score on an RBI single by
Cooper Schwindt with two outs as Emporia State took a 1-0 lead.
Washburn was able to take the lead in the second inning, scoring three runs on four hits to hold a 3-1 advantage over the Hornets.
Logan Myers pulled Emporia State within 3-2 in the bottom half with a sac fly, and after a scoreless top of the third by the Ichabods, the Hornets put together the first of two four-run frame in the third.
The scoring started in the inning with a sac fly from
TJ Racherbaumer to make the score 3-3, and after hits from
Jovanni Toledo and
Sammy Padilla,
Elijah Reeves doubled into left field to restore the Emporia State lead with a score of 5-3.
Logan Myers then followed Reeves with a first-pitch single to complete the inning and put the Hornets ahead 6-3.
The Ichabods would bounce back with three runs in the fourth as they knotted the score at 6-6. The score remained deadlocked at 6-6 until the bottom of the fifth, when the Hornets scored two runs, getting RBI from
Peyton Lewis and
Noah Steele to take an 8-6 lead.
Nick Woodcock who had entered the in the third inning, came back out in the sixth and worked around a pair of singles to hold the 8-6 lead for Emporia State. The Hornets continued their hot hitting, as they tallied their second four-run inning in the bottom of the sixth.
With the bases loaded and one out,
Elijah Reeves again drove in two runs, this time with a single up the middle to make the score 10-6. After a steal of second by Reeves, the Hornets added two more on a single by
Logan Myers to build a 12-6 advantage headed to the late innings.
Ryan Sauter took over for the Hornets in the seventh and faced the minimum with the help of a double play to hold the 12-6 lead. Washburn kept the Hornets at bay in the bottom of the seventh, and attempted to rally in the eighth.
The Ichabods were able to load the bases with one out, and then scored two runs on a fielding error to make the score 12-8. Sauter limited the damage as he forced a line out to Reeves in center. In the bottom of the eighth, the Hornets got both runs back.
TJ Racherbaumer led off the inning with a single, and
Jovanni Toledo crushed his fifth home run of the season to build a 14-8 lead.
Washburn got a lead off double and a one-out walk in the ninth against Sauter, but the Hornet pitcher kept the Ichabods off the board in the inning, sealing his first career save and the 14-8 win for Emporia State in game one of the Turnpike Tussle.
Six Hornets tallied multi-hit games and
Elijah Reeves led the way with a 4-5 game and four RBI, as the four hits and four RBI are both career-highs.
Logan Myers,
Peyton Lewis and
Jovanni Toledo all had three-hit games and Myers drove in four runs of his own.
On the mound,
Nick Woodcock picked up his first career win behind 3.2 relief innings and four strikeouts.
Ryan Sauter picked up his first career save as he pitched the final 3.0 innings with no earned runs and three strikeouts.
Emporia State and Washburn will meet in game two of the Turnpike Tussle on Saturday, April 12 with first pitch scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Saturday is also Pack the Park at Trusler Sports Complex and features a field dedication and first pitch ceremony, as well as free admission and $2 hot dogs.
