February 14, 2026 – Emporia State baseball defeated Sioux Falls 6-1 on Saturday night, as
Colby Deaver continued his strong start to the season with six scoreless innings on the mound.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Neither team got on the board in the first two frames, but in the third Emporia State found their first two runs. A leadoff double from
Cooper Schwindt and a one-out walk by
Logan Myers eventually led to
Frankie Santiago up with two runners on and two outs. Santiago then tripled to right to drive in both and put the Hornets ahead 2-0.
Colby Deaver notched the first of two innings in the game where he struck out the side in the third, giving him five through the first three innings. In the top of the fifth, the Hornets struck again, this time for three more runs.
Noah Steele drew a bases loaded walk with two outs to make the score 3-0, and after a pitching change by the Cougars,
Nathon Cruz singled through the left side to drive in a pair and boost the lead to 5-0.
Deaver again followed the scoring by striking out the side in the bottom half, running his total to eight. Following a scoreless sixth for Emporia State, Deaver returned for his final inning of work and worked around two hits with two more strikeouts, capping his night at ten.
The final insurance run for the Hornets came in the top of the ninth, as
Evan Abbott added another RBI to his tally on the young season, doubling to centerfield to drive in
Logan Myers to extend the lead to 6-0.
Sioux Falls drew a hit by pitch and three walks to open the bottom of the ninth and get their first run of the game and kept the pressure on through a pair of pitching changes for the Hornets. The Cougars eventually loaded the bases trailing 6-3 and brought the winning run to the plate, but
Quinton Chindamo forced a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat and seal the win.
A LOOK AT THE STATS
Colby Deaver's hot start to 2026 continued on Saturday as he pitched 6.0 scoreless innings and struck out ten batters.
At the plate, the Hornets tallied just seven hits.
Frankie Santiago went 2-4 with two RBI and
Tyler Coffin went 2-4 with a run scored in his first career start.
Nathon Cruz drove in two runs, his third game with multiple RBI this season.
UP NEXT
The Steve Anson Classic wraps up on Sunday, February 15 as Emporia State takes on #23 MSU Denver in their second matchup of the weekend. First pitch between the Hornets and Roadrunners is 11:00 a.m.
NOTES
Colby Deaver has 26 strikeouts in his first three outings, which is the most by a Hornet pitcher through three outings since Jake Barton had 29 to begin the 2020 season.
Deaver's ten strikeouts are the most by a Hornet pitcher since Noah Geekie against Central Missouri on 3/12/23.
