Softball | 3/12/2026 9:57:00 AM

Games 20-23
Emporia State Hornets (13-6, 0-0 MIAA)
vs. #18 Rogers State Hillcats (16-6, 0-0 MIAA)
Friday, March 13 • 2:00 p.m. (DH) • Trusler Sports Complex • Emporia, Kan.
Series History: RSU leads 11-3 • Last Meeting: RSU 3, ESU 2 (3/7/25)

vs. Northeastern State Riverhawks (13-8, 0-0 MIAA)
Saturday, March 14 • 12:00 p.m. (DH) • Trusler Sports Complex • Emporia, Kan.
Series History: ESU leads 38-26 • Last Meeting: ESU 8, NSU 0 (3/8/25)
Complete Notes in pdf • The MIAA Network • Live Stats

QUICK HITS

• Emporia State is 13-6 through nonconference play to begin the season, with four of their six losses by just one run.
• The Hornets are hitting .303 as a team this season, with nine players hitting above .300 that have played in ten or more games this season.
• Emporia State has 20 home runs this season, with nine coming off the bat of Brooke Flewelling, which is the second-best mark in the MIAA.
• In the circle, five different Hornets have pitched this season, with Hannah Butterbaugh pacing the staff in her freshman season, as she holds a 1.13 ERA in 56.0 innings. Her ERA is tied for the best mark in the MIAA so far this season.

IT JUST MEANS MORE
MIAA action begins for Emporia State softball with a pair of doubleheaders at the Trusler Sports Complex against #18 Rogers State and Northeastern State.

LAST TIME OUT
The Hornets made their 2026 debut at the Trusler Sports Complex, as they hosted Central Region opposition with the Augustana Vikings visiting. In game one, the visiting Vikings jumped out in front early, taking a 5-0 lead over the Hornets in the second inning. Emporia State responded with three in the bottom of the second and two more in the third to pull level, and eventually scored the go-ahead run in the fifth before four more in the sixth, highlighted by a three-run Brynley Smith home run as the Hornets finished off a 10-6 win in the first game. Game two saw the Hornets take a lead in the first inning on a Brooke Flewelling double. Augustana picked up single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to take a 2-1 lead, but the Hornets responded quickly again, this time off the bat of Addison Callaway who lined a two-run home run to left field which proved decisive as the Hornets won 3-2 to sweep the doubleheader.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 13-6 through all but two of their scheduled non-conference games for 2026, as they will travel to Drury for a midweek doubleheader next week. The Hornets are hitting .303 as a team, which is the seventh-best mark in the MIAA, with their most notable mark being their 20 home runs this season, which ranks fifth. Brooke Flewelling has been a key factor in the Hornets hitting the long ball so far, as she has nine of her own, which is just two shy of her total last season. Flewelling is hitting .391 this season with a 1.326 OPS. Her nine home runs rank second in the MIAA while her OPS is the fifth-best. While Flewelling has the team-high in average, eight more players have an average north of .300 that have played in ten or more games this season. Sydney Wagner and Taryn Burkhardt are hitting .321 and .310 respectively and are tied for second behind Flewelling with 14 runs scored each.
Emporia State's strength this so far this season has been their ability to limit runs for the opposition, as the Hornets have the fourth-best ERA in the MIAA at 2.36 behind a trio of ranked teams. Freshman Hannah Butterbaugh's 1.13 is tied for the best mark in the conference as she has a 7-1 record while allowing opponents to hit just .210 against her. In addition to Butterbaugh, Izzy Sloan and Chloe Wilson have been been staples on the pitching staff, making 12 and nine appearances respectively this season.

SCOUTING THE HILLCATS
Rogers State is 16-6 to start the 2026 campaign and are currently ranked #18 in the latest NFCA Coaches Poll. The Hillcats have won 34 or more games in each of the past five seasons, including 58-10 season in 2022 that saw Rogers State win the national title. This season, Rogers State has managed to score double-digit runs in just one outing, but have excelled in the circle, posting a 1.89 team ERA which is the best mark in the MIAA and a top ten mark in the nation. Kinsley Hill and Harley Culie have combined to start all 22 games and have had just two outings combined allowed more than two earned runs. Culie has been one of the most prolific strikeout pitchers this season, striking out 91 batters in 75 innings, which is inside the top ten in the nation.
At the plate, the Hillcats don't hold any eye-popping numbers, but have a trio of hitters in Raylin Morgan, Jaden Jordan and Mariah Belzer who all hit north of .350 this season. Morgan has a team-high seven doubles, five home runs, 23 RBI and 1.137 OPS.

SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State trails the series with Rogers State 11-3 with the Hillcats taking both meetings in the 2025 season. The Hornets have won just one of the last ten games in the series.

SCOUTING THE RIVERHAWKS
Northeastern State 13-8 this season and have won six of their last seven games, including a doubleheader sweep of Southern Nazarene in their last time out. The Riverhawks as a team are hitting .305 this season, a mark just slightly above the Hornets. Korynn Tindel has stood our for NSU this season starting all 21 games and posting a .478 average with six home runs, 18 extra-base hits, 27 RBI and a 1.489 OPS, which is the best mark in the MIAA. Mattison Hamilton, Madison Nance and Annsleigh Morris are also hitting above .300 with Nance and Morris hitting four and three home runs each.
In the circle, the Riverhawks have struggled a bit more, posting a 4.09 team ERA with 73 strikeouts while allowing 77 walks. Jensyn Elder has been the best on staff this season, as the junior has a 3.36 ERA while striking out 33 in 56.1 innings.

SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the series with the Riverhawks 38-26 and have won 12 of the last 14 in the series dating back to the 2019 season.

IN THE DUGOUT
Megan Hill is in her first season as the head coach for Emporia State and has started 13-6 this season. Hill has been with the Hornets since 2024, and after the opening weekend of her first season, she took over for April Rosales who was on leave due to doctor's orders regarding her pregnancy and went 30-15 over the remainder of the season.
Andrea Vaughn is 360-177-1 in her 11th season as the head coach of the Hillcats and is program's all-time winningest coach. Vaughn led the Hillcats to the 2022 National Championship and has won 34 or more games in each full season in the MIAA.
Cassidy Bowen is in 13-8 in her first season at Northeastern State. Bowen was previously an assistant coach at Concordia (TX and played for the University of Tulsa.

IN THE CIRCLE
Hannah Butterbaugh (Fr./Lenexa, Kan.) has made an immediate impact to the Hornet pitching staff in her freshman campaign. Butterbaugh has a 1.13 ERA in 56.0 innings pitched while accumulating a 7-1 record. She was named MIAA Pitcher of the Week after a strong showing at the Washburn Invitational as she struck out 18 in 18.1 innings while posting a 0.38 ERA.
Izzy Sloan (Jr./Indianola, IA) has become a staple in relief this season, as nine of her 12 appearances have come in relief and she has a 2.63 across 24.0 innings. Sloan has three saves and a 1-0 record this season and has allowed just 21 hits.
Chloe Wilson (So./Kingwood, Texas) has a 3.19 ERA in nine appearances and holds a 3-1 record. Her first outing with the Hornets was a 6.0 inning complete game shutout on opening weekend in her home state against East Central (1/30).

BEHIND THE PLATE
Leslie Ramos (Sr./Grand Island, Neb.) has played in 13 games with 11 start at both DP and catcher. Ramos has a .371 OBP in 35 plate appearances with five runs scored. 
Addison Callaway (Fr./Leavenworth, Kan.) has come on strong of late, as she enters the MIAA slate with a seven-game hitting streak. She drove in two runs in both games against Augustana last time, including the eventual game-winning home run in game two. She also helped the Hornets walkoff Rockhurst (2/22) in the final game Washburn Invitational.

AROUND THE HORN
Avery Brewer (Jr./Jenks, Okla.) has started 17 games and is hitting .313 with four home runs and 11 RBI this season. Brewer homered in the season opener against Lewis (1/30) and has reached base in 14 of 17 games played.
Brynley Smith (So./Wichita, Kan.) has made just seven starts, but started both games against Augustana last time out. She is hitting .421 with two home runs, including a three-run home run against the Vikings (3/8).
Karli Wehunt (Jr./Shidler, Okla.) has made 12 starts at second base and is hitting .282 this season with two doubles, one home run, five RBI and five runs scored.
Mallory Moore (So./Flower Mound, Texas) has eight starts this season and is hitting .308 while reaching base in 12 of 30 plate appearances. 
Sydney Wagner (So./Buda, Texas) has started all 19 games and holds a .321 average, the second-best mark for the Hornets. Wagner has scored 14 runs, drawn eight walks and is reaching base at a .406 clip.
Brooke Flewelling (Jr./Holton, Kan.) has been a standout in the Hornet order, batting .391 with a 1.326 OPS, while hitting nine home runs and driving in 22 runs. She has also added three doubles and scored a team-high 17 runs.

OUT IN THE FIELD
Elina Bartlett (Jr./Cheney, Kan.) has made 15 starts in her first season with the Hornets and has a .356 OBP while driving in eight runs and scoring seven of her own.
Taryn Burkhardt (Sr./Silver Lake, Kan.) has seemingly picked up where she left off the 2025 season in which she stole 40 bases, as she is 15-15 so far in 2026. Burkhardt is batting .310 and is tied for second on the Hornets with 14 runs scored. 
Kinsey Perine (So./Rossville, Kan.) has rebounded from a slow start offensively, picking up a hit in eight of the last nine games as she holds a .318 average. Perine posted a 4-4 performance against Drury at the Washburn Invitational (2/22) and also went 3-6 with two RBI and a triple in the doubleheader against Augustana (3/8).
Juliana De Luna (Jr./San Antonio, Texas) is in her third year with the Hornets and made nine starts. She has scored a pair of runs and has two steals with two RBI.

HORNET HISTORY
Emporia State has qualified for NCAA Regional play 13 times and finished as the NCAA Division II National Runners-up in 2006 and 2008. ESU won the NAIA National Championship in 1983 and 1984 and won the AIAW National Championship in 1980.
The Hornets were MIAA regular season champions four straight years from 2005-08 and MIAA Tournament champions seven straight years running from 2004-10. In the 21st Century, Emporia State has claimed the regular season title eight times (2005-08, 2010-12, 2014) and the tournament title nine times (2004-10, 2012, 2018).