February 20, 2026 – Emporia State opened the MIAA slate with a 14-4 run-rule win on the road against Arkansas-Fort Smith on Friday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hornets needed just four batters in the top of the first to take a 2-0 lead over the Lions.
Evan Abbott singled with one out and two batters later, with two outs in the inning,
Noah Steele hit his first homer of the season to put Emporia State out in front.
Emporia State threatened for more than two in the first, but left the bases loaded without adding to their total.
Seth Stover got the start for the Hornets on Friday and worked around a pair of runners in the first to hold the 2-0 lead. Both teams went scoreless in the second before the long ball returned for the Hornets in the third.
Brady Unrein and
Dylan Brisbois opened the top of the third with back-to-back homers to extend the Hornet lead to 4-0.
Arkansas-Fort Smith nearly got on the board in the bottom of the third, as a leadoff walk eventually moved around to third with one out. However, a flyout to left resulted in the runner leaving early, turning into an inning-ending double play for Emporia State to keep the score at 4-0.
Both teams were scoreless in the fourth before Emporia State added one in the fifth on an RBI single by
Cooper Schwindt and two more in the sixth courtesy of a
Frankie Santiago homer and a double by
Brady Unrein.
The Lions finally broke onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth, scoring three runs and eventually loading the bases with with one out, bringing the tying-run to the plate.
Jake Khasaempanth entered for Emporia State under similar circumstances to his first Hornet appearance. Following a single to make the score 7-4, Khasaempanth picked up a strikeout and a flyout to center to leave the bases loaded and send the game to the late innings.
Emporia State responded on the offensive side with six runs of their own in the seventh frame. An RBI single by
Logan Myers and a defensive miscue plated two for Emporia State, and
Evan Abbott followed with an RBI double as they lead grew back to 10-4.
Noah Steele picked up his third RBI on a fielder's choice and then
Dylan Brisbois capped off the inning with a two-out, two-run double, extending the advantage to 13-4.
Following a scoreless bottom of the seventh by
Brandon Vassallo, the Hornets move ahead by ten in the eighth as
Nathon Cruz drew a bases loaded walk.
Alex Renfrow entered in the bottom half for his second appearance of the season and used a flyball double play to work around a leadoff single and seal the 14-4 run-rule win for Emporia State.
A LOOK AT THE STATS
Emporia State matched their season-high with 18 hits on the afternoon, with five players posting multi-hit games.
Brady Unrein went 4-6 with a home run, double and two RBI while
Dylan Brisbois and
Evan Abbott ach had three hits of their own. Brisbois and
Noah Steele each had three RBI.
On the mound,
Seth Stover picked up his second win of the season after pitching 5.0 innings. The bullpen combined to allow just one run over the final 3.0 innings.
UP NEXT
Game two of the series against the Lions will be on Saturday, February 21 from Crowder Field in Fort Smith, Ark. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
