Baseball | 4/24/2025 12:00:00 PM
Games 42-44
Emporia State Hornets (21-20, 14-16 MIAA)
vs Arkansas-Fort Smith (12-28, 7-23 MIAA)
Friday, April 25 • 6:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan. • Turnbull Field
Saturday, April 26 • 2:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan. • Turnbull Field
Sunday, April 27 • 12:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan. • Turnbull Field
Series History: First Meeting
The MIAA Network • Live Stats • Listen • Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: at Northwest Missouri • May 1-3 • Maryville, Mo.
QUICK HITS
- The series between the Hornets and the Lions will the first ever meeting between the two programs.
- The Hornets are 21-20 this season, matching their total wins from the first season under Brad Hill, with six regular season games remaining.
- Last weekend against Northeastern State, the Hornets scored a season-high 20 runs in the finale, in large part due to four RBI and a cycle by TJ Racherbaumer, as the senior become the second Hornet in the NCAA era to complete the cycle
- Emporia State scored 56 runs in the series against the Riverhawks, marking the most in a three-game series since the Hornets scored 58 in a sweep against Lincoln in 2016.
FINAL TURN AT TURNBULL
Emporia State is set to host Arkansas-Fort Smith in three games from Turnbull Field at the Trusler Sports Complex. The Hornets' first ever meeting against the Lions will be the final home games of the season at Turnbull Field.
LAST TIME OUT
Emporia State traveled to Fort Hays State, as they wrapped up their midweek series against the Tigers. The Hornets scored the first run of the game in the second inning, and after five runs by Fort Hays State over the next six innings, Emporia State trailed 5-1 heading to the eighth. Emporia State managed to score three runs in the frame, cutting the deficit to 5-4 before the 21st-ranked Tigers scored seven in the bottom half to seal the 12-4 win over the Hornets.
A LOOK AT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 21-20 this season and 14-16 in the MIAA, as they are one of five teams in 5-9 in the MIAA standings that are separated by just one game. The Hornets are led offensively by Noah Steele who is batting .369 which ranks ninth in the MIAA. The junior from Prairie Village has hit 13 home runs this season and has a 1.144 OPS, which both rank fifth in the association. In addition to 13 home runs from Steele, six Hornets have seven or more homers on the season. Four Hornets have drawn 20 or more walks this season, including TJ Racherbaumer who leads the way with 27 and is currently ranked in the top ten in seven career offensive categories in Emporia State history. On the mound, the weekends have been highlighted by Cade Barton and Seth Stover who have 3.35 and 4.45 ERA's respectively. The pair have combined to strikeout 68 batters and allow just 14 walks in 114.1 combined innings. Nick Woodcock has also continuously increased his role for the Hornets, including pitching a career-high 4.0 innings with eight strikeouts in his first career start against Northeastern State. The bullpen has seen five pitchers make nine or more relief appearances, including Ryan Sauter who has a 4.15 ERA in 13 appearances, while striking out 15 in his last 10.1 innings. Ian Lanik has pitched in a team-high 15 games and has six saves which is third in the MIAA and the most by a Hornet pitcher since 2017.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
Arkansas-Fort Smith is 12-27 on the season and 7-22 in MIAA action in just their first season in the association. The Lions are led offensively by a pair of hitters above .300, including senior Cooper White who is hitting .346 this season and is leading the team in runs scored, doubles, RBI and walks. Ryan Riggs is batting .301 and has driven in 18 runs of his own and has a .416 OBP. Noah Davis, Nico Patrick and Matt Schilling have all recorded 22 or more RBI on the season. Grant Shankle and Brayden Ross have both started a team-high 11 games and have combined for 110 strikeouts in 139.1 innings pitched. Shankle has tossed 75.0 innings this season, the most in the association.
UP NEXT
Emporia State will wrap up the regular season with a trip north to take on Northwest Missouri in a three-game series with MIAA Tournament implications on the line. The series between the Hornets and Bearcats is on May 1-3 in Maryville, Mo.
TOP OF THE HILL
Head coach Brad Hill is in his second season as the head coach at Emporia State and is 42-49 back at this alma mater. Hill has won 928 games in his 26Â seasons as a four year head coach, and including his three seasons at Hutchinson Community College from 1988-90, he has won 1,011 games in 28-plus seasons in his head coaching career. Hill was twice named Big 12 and ABCA Midwest Coach of the Year at K-State and won a national championship in 2003 at Central Missouri.
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 points below the 2023 mark and dropped the opponent batting average against from .316 to .303.
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 scheduled matchup between the Hornets and Tigers is the ninth ranked game for the Hornets this season, the most since the 2019 season.Â
TOP TEN TJ
Catcher TJ Racherbaumer (Sr./Herrmann, Mo.) is in year four with the Hornets and has played in 186 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 (118), fourth in at-bats (641), seventh in base hits (191), eighth in home runs (27), and ninth in runs scored (140). He also completed the cycle against Northeastern State, becoming the second Hornet to achieve it in the NCAA era.
MY OH MYERS
Infielder Logan Myers (So./Pittsburg, Kan.) is hitting .338 this season with five home runs, 34 RBI and 42 runs scored. Myers is 22-44 over the last nine games, with eight doubles and 13 RBI, while recording multiple hits in seven of the last nine. He is also hitting .320 in 84 games over his first two seasons at Emporia State.
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 has eight home runs, the most by a Hornet freshman since TJ Racherbaumer tallied ten in 2022. His eight long balls include a walk-off, two-run homer in the tenth inning of the series finale against Rogers State to seal the series win.
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, and has 14 on the season. Lewis is hitting .340 with 20 extra-base hits and 30 RBI.
KING FELIX
Utility Dominic Felix (Jr./Tucson, Ariz.) has played both corner infield positions this season and has a .290 batting average in 37 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 33 of his 37 starts while doing so in 14 of his last 15 games.
SPEEDING SAMMY
Utility Sammy Padilla (R-Fr./Tucson, Ariz.) has become an important utility player for the Hornets in his second season in Emporia, playing in 31 games across all three outfield positions and second base. Padilla is batting .271 and reaching base at a .442 rate while stealing four bases and being one of four players with multiple triples this season.
COOP AND A BLAST
Outfielder Cooper Schwindt (Jr./Shawnee, Kan.) has started 40 games for Emporia State in his first year with the Hornets. Schwindt has seven home runs, ten doubles, 33 RBI and a .285 average while also being second on the team in RBI doubles on the season.
TAKE ME TO THE ER
Outfielder Elijah Reeves (Jr./Casper, Wyo.) has played in 35 games and while he is hitting .259 in 85 at-bats, Reeves has drawn 16 walks and been a ball-magnet, being hit by a pitch nine times en route to a .420 OBP. Reeves has also stolen nine bases this season. In the series 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 .369 this season in the heart of the Hornet batting order and has a team-high 13 home runs while also leading Emporia State with 55 hits, 46 RBI and a 1.144 OPS. Steele has also reached base in 36 of 39 starts this season and has 14 multi-hit games. He has also recorded an RBI in 11 of the last 13 games with 18 total in that span.
HOLY TOLEDO
First Basemen Jovanni Toledo (So./Tucson, Ariz.) has seven home runs, six doubles and 28 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 is hitting .392 over his last seven games, including a 4-5 game with five RBI in the series opener against Northeastern State.
CONSISTENT CADE
Pitcher Cade Barton (Sr./Omaha, Neb.) is in year four with the Hornets and has 47 appearances and 32 starts in his Emporia State career. Barton is posting a 3.35 ERA in 53.2 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 five of his last six starts, including 7.1 shutout innings against Missouri Southern and 8.1 innings while allowing just three hits against #1 Central Missouri. His start 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 11 starts this season and is up to 22 starts and 24 appearances in his two seasons with the Hornets. Stover is posting a 4.45 ERA in 60.2 innings, while striking out 37 with just 12 walks allowed. He currently ranks 12th in the MIAA in innings pitched and fourth in walks allowed. Stover has also pitched 5.0 or more innings in seven of his ten starts this season and has pitched 7.0 innings in three outings.
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 15 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 20.2 innings across 13 appearances and has a 1-1 record with one save and 23 strikeouts. Sauter has 15 strikeouts and just five earned runs allowed over his last 14.0 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 nine 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. His first start came in the last series against Northeastern State, as Woodcock struck out eight in a career-high 4.0 innings pitched. Woodcock has also struck out three or more batters in seven of his nine appearances.
GUTTY GRAEME
Pitcher Graeme Rios (Jr./Houston, Texas) has 12 appearances and six starts in his first year with Emporia State, including starts in four Friday games. Rios holds a 4-2 record and has 22 strikeouts on the season.
G2 TUESDAY
Pitcher Gerardo Grijalva (Jr./Tucson, Ariz.) is in his first year at Emporia State and has six starts this season, including the nod in five of the six MIAA midweek matchups. Grijalva has 17 strikeouts in 26.0 innings while allowing just a .250 opponent batting average.
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.
POWER SURGE
On the season, the Hornets have a team total of 64 home runs, which currently ranks third in the MIAA this season. Six Hornets have hit seven or more home runs this season, including junior Noah Steele who has a team-high 13 which ranks tied for fifth in the MIAA. As a team, Emporia State has homered three or more times in a game 12 times this season, with a season-high six in an 18-11 win over Maryville (3/7).
HOW SWEEP IT IS
In addition to winning the series against Newman at the end of spring break, which was the first series sweep for the Hornets since 2021, Emporia State's sweep of Northeastern State last time out marked the first time since 2019 that the Hornets have picked up multiple series sweeps in the same season.
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.
