March 6, 2026 – Emporia State baseball used six homers and a flurry of hits to consistently apply pressure to Pittsburg State on their way to a 14-2 win over the third-ranked Gorillas in the series opener on Friday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Pittsburg State managed to strike first, as Jadyn McNealy recorded an infield single, one of his three for the Gorillas and later came around to score to put the visitors on the board. The Hornets responded in the bottom half with
Logan Myers kickstarting the offense with his first of four hits, a double down the line to leadoff the inning. After the first out,
Frankie Santiago delivered the first long ball of the afternoon to put Emporia State ahead 2-1.
Seth Stover answered with a scoreless second, which set up the Hornets for two more homers, this time around by
Dylan Brisbois and
Logan Myers to extend the Emporia State lead to 5-1.
Pittsburg State picked up their second and final run of the day in the third, as McNealy again reached and after stealing second, scored on a single to make the score 5-2. The Hornets added two more in the bottom of the third, as
Frankie Santiago homered again while
Brady Unrein drove in a run, the sixth time in seven games the sophomore from Wichita has picked up an RBI.
In the fourth, Stover began to settle into a rhythm, retiring the Gorillas in order before setting up another three-run inning for Emporia State. A one-out single by Myers and and a two-out walk by
Frankie Santiago set the stage for
Noah Steele who roped a line drive over the wall in left center to increase the advantage to 10-2.
Stover again faced the minimum in the fifth, as a two-out single by McNealy was erased by Brisbois who cut down the attempted steal to end the frame. A
Cooper Schwindt sac fly and a double off the wall by Myers pushed the lead to 12-2 through five innings.
Pittsburg State advanced a runner into scoring position in the sixth, but Stover turned the visitors away to cap his outing. Emporia State picked up two more in the bottom of the sixth, first on
Noah Steele's second homer of the afternoon and then on an RBI single by Brisbois to push the lead out to 14-2.
Nick Woodcock relieved Stover in the seventh, and after a leadoff double, picked up two strikeouts on his way to sealing the 14-2 win in seven frames.
A LOOK AT THE STATS
Emporia State held a 15-6 advantage in hits, with six of their hits being home runs.
Noah Steele and
Frankie Santiago each homered twice while
Logan Myers and
Dylan Brisbois hit one of their own.
Seth Stover pitched a season-high 6.0 innings and struck out six batters while allowing just five hits and two runs.
UP NEXT
Game two of the series between #3 Pittsburg State and (RV) Emporia State is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 7 from Trusler Sports Complex.
NOTES
Emporia State's win over #3 Pittsburg State on Friday is the Hornet's first win over a top-five team since a 15-5 win over #2 Central Missouri on April 13, 2024.
