February 27, 2026 – Emporia State baseball dropped their home opener 11-5 against Northwest on Friday afternoon from the Trusler Sports Complex.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Emporia State and Northwest Missouri went scoreless in the first inning, and after a second clean inning by
Seth Stover, the Hornets got on the board first in the bottom half.
Noah Steele singled to center and after stealing second, came around to score on an RBI double by
Brady Unrein off the centerfield wall.
Stover continued to keep the Bearcats at bay, and then in the fourth inning, Emporia State added to their lead.
Frankie Santiago opened with a ground-rule double, which was followed by
Noah Steele drawing a walk.
Nathon Cruz moved the runners with a sac bunt, and then after a passed ball to score Santiago,
Brady Unrein lifted his second homer of the season to make the score 4-0.
Northwest Missouri threatened in the top of the fifth, picking up a pair of singles and a walk with two outs to load the bases. Stover escaped the jam however, picking up a strikeout to end the inning.
Emporia State capped off their scoring in the bottom half, as an RBI double by
Frankie Santiago extended the lead to 5-0.
The trouble started for Emporia State in the top of the sixth, as the Bearcats used four hits and a pair of walks to score five and pull level with the Hornets. Emporia State looked to respond in the bottom half, putting two on with no outs, but following a sac bunt, the Hornets were unable to capitalize as the score remained deadlocked.
Over the final three innings, the Bearcats scored six runs on nine walks and three hit batters to pull away for an 11-5 lead.
Emporia State put their first two batters on in the ninth but were unable to kickstart a comeback as they fell 11-5 against the visiting comebacks.
A LOOK AT THE STATS
Emporia State had just nine hits and tied for their lowest run output of the season.
Brady Unrein went 3-4 with a home run and three RBI.
Northwest Missouri drew 13 walks and was hit by a pitch five times as they used free passes to propel their offense.
UP NEXT
Games two and three of the series between the Hornets and Bearcats are set for Saturday, February 28 with first pitch of the doubleheader set for 12:00 p.m.
