Baseball | 4/14/2025 6:00:00 PM
Game 37
Emporia State Hornets (17-19, 10-15 MIAA)
vs. Missouri Western Griffons (12-24, 10-15 MIAA)
Tuesday, April 15 • 5:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan. • Turnbull Field
Series History: ESU leads 114-57 •
Last Meeting: MWSU 5, ESU 4 (10 inn.)
The MIAA Network •
Live Stats •
Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: at Northeastern State • April 17-19 • Tahlequah, Okla.
QUICK HITS
- The Tuesday matchup between the Hornets and Griffons is the rubber match of the midweek series, as the two teams have split the first two games, with both games being won by the home team bY just one run.
- Both Emporia State and Missouri Western are 10-15 in the MIAA, as teams 8-11 in the standings are separated by just two games.
- Emporia State is looking to secure their fourth MIAA series win of the season, the first time since 2022 with four or more.
RUBBER MATCH WRAPS UP HOME STAND
Emporia State's home stand concludes on Tuesday as they host Missouri Western in the finale of the three-game midweek series between the Hornets and Griffons. The previous two meetings have both been won by the home by a lone run.
LAST TIME OUT
Emporia State hosted Washburn over the weekend in a Turnpike Tussle series at Turnbull Field. The Hornets and Ichabods were separated by just one run over the course of three game, despite the Ichabods taking the series. Emporia State took game one 14-8 which featured 19 Hornet hits, the second-most in a game this season. The Hornets fell 14-13 in game two, despite a furious comeback attempt in the ninth with five runs, and then dropped the finale 12-6.
A LOOK AT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 17-19 this season and 10-15 in the MIAA, as they are one of four teams currently sitting 8-11 in the standings that are just two games apart. The Hornets are led offensively by Noah Steele who is batting .362 which ranks 11th in the MIAA. The junior from Prairie Village has hit four home runs and driven in 13 runs over the last eight games. In addition to 11 home runs from Steele, four Hornets have six or more homers on the season. Logan Myers has drawn 20 walks this season, including nine in the last nine games. Myers also hit .588 last week, recording multiple hits in all four games. TJ Racherbaumer has drawn a team-high 21 walks, and has 112 in his career, which is fourth in Emporia State history. On the mound, the weekend's have been highlighted by Cade Barton and Seth Stover who have 3.26 and 4.18 ERA's respectively. The pair have combined to strikeout 63 batters and allow just ten walks in 105.2 combined innings. Gerardo Grijalva has started all four MIAA midweek matchups for the Hornets this season, and has a 1-1 record with 15 strikeouts in 20.0 innings pitched. The bullpen has seen eight pitchers make eight or more relief appearances, including Ryan Sauter who has a 3.86 across 11 appearances, while also not allowing an earned run in the last 8.1 innings.
SCOUTING THE GRIFFONS
Missouri Western is 12-24 on the season and 10-15 in the MIAA and have won four straight entering the game, including a series sweep over the week against Arkansas-Fort Smith. The Griffons are hitting .279 as a team and are reaching base at a .375 rate while also stealing 78 bases, the second-most in the MIAA this season. The offense is led by Kaden Doan and Frank Gall, who have .361 and .333 averages respectively. Doan has a team-high .465 OBP and Gall has 25 RBI and a team-high 18 extra-base hits. Gall's seven triples leads the MIAA. On the mound, Colby Deaver started the previous two matchups against Emporia State and has a 5.32 across a team-leading 47.1 innings pitched. In the bullpen, Jayson Shorb has a 3.00 and 18 strikeouts in 14 relief appearances while five more Griffons have made 11 or more appearances out of the bullpen.Â
UP NEXT
Emporia State will hit the road for the second to last MIAA road series of the season as they travel to Tahlequah, Okla. for a three-game series against Northeastern State on April 17-19.
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 marked three consecutive weekend series wins 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.
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. The three scheduled games between the Hornets and Mules will mark the first time since 2021 the Hornets will play more than six ranked games in a season.
POWER SURGE
On the season, the Hornets have a team total of 54 home runs, which currently ranks third in the MIAA this season. Five Hornets have hit six or more home runs this season, including junior Noah Steele who has a team-high 11 which also ranks sixth in the MIAA. As a team, Emporia State has homered three or more times in a game ten 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 181 career games, as he passed Tim Barger for seventh-most in Emporia State history. In addition to career games played, Racherbaumer ranks fourth in walks (112), fourth in at-bats (627), seventh in base hits (183) and tied for ninth in doubles (#6). He also has 23 home runs and 127 runs scored in his career, which is near the top ten in both categories.
MY OH MYERS
Infielder Logan Myers (So./Pittsburg, Kan.) is hitting .316 this season with five home runs, 24 RBI and 33 runs scored. Myers is coming off a 10-17 week at the plate where he recorded multiple his in all four games for the Hornets, pushing his season total to 14 multi-hit games. He has also hit .309 in his 79 career games played for the Hornets in his first two seasons.
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 his last 16, 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 .325 with seven homers and 23 RBI this season.Â
KING FELIX
Utility Dominic Felix (Jr./Tucson, Ariz.) has played both corner infield positions this season and has a .307 batting average in 32 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 29 of his 32 starts while doing so in each of the last ten games.
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 .268 average and .435 OBP this season. Padilla has played second base and all three outfield positions and has four stolen bases while also being one of two players with multiple triples on the season.
COOP AND A BLAST
Outfielder Cooper Schwindt (Jr./Shawnee, Kan.) has started 35 games for Emporia State in his first year with the Hornets. Schwindt has six home runs, seven doubles, 27 RBI and a .272 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 30 games and while he is hitting .286 in 70 at-bats, Reeves has drawn 13 walks and been a ball-magnet, being hit by a pitch eight times en route to a .446 OBP. Reeves has also stolen eight bases this season. In the opener against Washburn, Reeves went 4-5 with four RBI, marking career-highs in both in the 14-8 win against the Ichabods.
STEELE TRAP
Outfielder/First Basemen Noah Steele (Jr./Prairie Village, Kan.) is hitting .362 this season in the heart of the Hornet batting order and has a team-high 11 home runs while also leading Emporia State with 47 hits, 41 RBI and a 1.105 OPS. Steele has also reached base in 31 of 34 starts this season and has 12 multi-hit games. He has also recorded an RBI in eight straight games with 13 total in that span.
HOLY TOLEDO
First Basemen Jovanni Toledo (So./Tucson, Ariz.) has six home runs, five doubles and 22 RBI this season. Toledo's biggest hit of the season was 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. Toledo hit .500 last week, going 7-14 with two homers, four RBI and six runs scored for the Hornets.
CONSISTENT CADE
Pitcher Cade Barton (Sr./Omaha, Neb.) is in year four with the Hornets and has 46 appearances and 31 starts in his Emporia State career. Barton is posting a 3.26 ERA in 49.2 innings this season as he has worked back from an injury suffered in the final month of the 2024 season. Barton has gone 6.0 or more innings in each of his last five starts, including 7.1 shutout innings against Missouri Southern and 8.1 innings while allowing just three hits against #1 Central Missouri. His start last time out against Washburn marked the 13th start for Barton of at least 6.0 innings pitched in the last two seasons.
HOT OFF THE STOVE
Pitcher Seth Stover (So./Columbus, Kan.) has made nine starts this season and is up to 21 starts and 23 appearances in his two seasons with the Hornets. Stover is off to a strong start through the first half of the season, posting a 4.18 ERA in 56.0 innings, while striking out 36 with just eight walks allowed. He currently ranks inside the top ten in the MIAA in innings pitched and walks allowed. Stover has also pitched 5.0 or more innings in seven of his nine starts this season and has pitched 7.0 innings in three starts.
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 13 appearances, and has converted six saves. His six saves are the most in a single season by a Hornet pitcher since Nathan Whitcomb recorded 11 saves in 2017.
SOUGHT AFTER SAUTER
Pitcher Ryan Sauter (Jr./Olathe, Kan.) has pitched 18.2 innings across 11 appearances and has a 1-1 record with one save and 15 strikeouts. Sauter has seven strikeouts and just three earned runs allowed over his last 12.0 innings, including no earned runs and three strikeouts in a three inning save in the opener against Washburn, the first save of his career.
CHOPPING WOOD
Pitcher Nick Woodcock (Whitby, Ontario) is in year one at Emporia State and has seven appearances. Woodcock struck out eight in three innings in a win against Maryville and struck out three against Missouri Southern in the series finale to seal the series win and earn a five-out save. Woodcock has also struck out three or more batters in five of his seven appearances.
GUTTY GRAEME
Pitcher Graeme Rios (Jr./Houston, Texas) has ten appearances and six starts in his first year with Emporia State, including starts in each of the last four Friday games. Rios holds a 4-2 record and has 19 strikeouts on the season.
G2 TUESDAY
Pitcher Gerardo Grijalva (Jr./Tucson, Ariz.) is in his first year at Emporia State and has five starts this season, including the nod in each of the four MIAA midweek matchups. Grijalva has 15 strikeouts in 20.0 innings while allowing just a .256 opponent batting average.
HOW SWEEP IT IS
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.
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.
