April 14, 2026 - Emporia State baseball jumped out to an early lead on Tuesday, before falling 11-9 in the finale of their midweek series against Missouri Western.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Emporia State got the scoring started in the first, piling on four runs to take an early lead.
Evan Abbott tripled with one out and then scored the first run on a passed ball to put the Hornets ahead. Following a
Noah Steele walk and a single by
Frankie Santiago,
Brady Unrein laid down a bunt single to score Steele and double the advantage. Cooper Scwhindt then doubled the lead again, this time with a two-out single as Emporia State took their 4-0 lead to the bottom half.
Jake Khasaempanth made his sixth start of the season and pitched a scoreless first frame with the help of the first of two Hornet double plays in the game.
In the second,
Evan Abbott again made things happen, as he singled with one out, stole second base and then came around to score following an errant pickoff throw by the Griffons to make the score 5-0.
Missouri Western finally responded in the bottom half, scoring three runs on three hits and two walks to trim the lead to 5-3.
Brady Unrein and
Nathon Cruz singled to open the third and
Tyler Coffin and
Austin Lynn both picked up RBI in the inning as the lead grew back to four. The score remained 7-3 until the bottom of the fourth, when the Griffons again responded, this time with their own four-run frame as the score was knotted at 7-7 heading to the fifth.
Emporia State added more to their tally in the top of the fifth, as
Evan Abbott notched his fourth hit with a double to drive in a pair of runs and put the Hornets ahead 9-7.
The response from Missouri Western came in the bottom of the seventh, as they loaded the bases with one out. After a strikeout by
Grant Huffman for the second out, a triple gave the Griffons the 10-9 lead.
In the eighth,
Logan Myers doubled with two outs, marking the 40th of his career to pull into a tie for seventh in program history with
TJ Racherbaumer. However, the Hornets failed to convert the opportunity and remained behind by one. Missouri Western managed to double their lead in the eighth to make the score 11-9.
Emporia State managed to draw a two-out walk in their last at-bat to bring the tying run to the plate but were unable to rally as they fell in the series finale against the Griffons.
A LOOK AT THE STATS
Evan Abbott posted his second four-hit game of the season, going 4-5 with two doubles, one triple and two RBI.
Cooper Schwindt also drove in two runs while
Logan Myers and
Brady Unrein had two-hit games.
UP NEXT
Emporia State returns home for a weekend series against #16 Central Missouri at the Trusler Sports Complex. Game one between the Hornets and Mules is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Friday, April 17.
