March 13, 2026 – Emporia State baseball won a back-and-forth battle against the Bronchos on Friday afternoon, as the Hornets took game one of the series 9-6 on the road.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Emporia State jumped ahead in the second inning with a trio of runs, as
Cooper Schwindt,
Logan Myers and
Evan Abbott all picked up an RBI to give the Hornets a 3-0 advantage. Following a 1-2-3 inning by
Seth Stover in the bottom half, the Hornets added another in the third inning, this time on a solo home run by
Nathon Cruz.
However, Central Oklahoma found their big inning in the bottom of the third as they scored five runs on three hits, three walks and an error to quickly rally back to take their first lead of the game 5-4.
The lead last mere minutes for the hosts, as
Tyler Coffin singled with one out in the fourth and then scored on a double by
Evan Abbott down the left field line to tie the game 5-5.
Nick Woodcock entered in relief in the fourth inning and despite allowing one run in the fifth, pitched three strong innings which included three strikeouts. After the run for the Bronchos to take a 6-5 lead, Emporia State answered back with two runs on RBI from
Logan Myers and
Frankie Santiago to put the Hornets ahead 7-6. Single runs in the seventh and ninth innings added to the advantage, building a 9-6 lead for Emporia State.
Jake Khasaempanth relieved Woodcock in the seventh and was the first of three Hornet pitchers to pitch the final three frames without allowing a run. Khasaempanth worked a scoreless seventh, followed by
Graeme Rios who retired the Bronchos in order with two strikeouts, and finally
Grant Huffman entered and picked up his third save of the season.
A LOOK AT THE STATS
Evan Abbott and
Tyler Coffin both posted multi-hit games, with Abbott,
Logan Myers and
Cooper Schwindt all driving in two runs.
Nick Woodcock picked up his first win of the season after his three innings in relief.
Seth Stover allowed just one earned run in his 3.0 innings of work and picked up four strikeouts. The Hornets struck out nine as a staff, their seventh game with nine or more strikeouts this season.
UP NEXT
Emporia State and Central Oklahoma will play game two of their three-game slate on Saturday, March 14. First pitch from Wendell Simmons Field in Edmond is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.