The MIAA season has begun in baseball, and the Hornets of Emporia State opened it by traveling down to Arkansas-Fort Smith over the weekend. The Hornets came into the opening series at 9-1 in their non-conference schedule and looked to continue that form. That is what they did by sweeping the Lions on their field to open MIAA play.
The opening game of the series set the tone for the Hornets’ weekend as it began with junior Noah Steele hitting a two-run home run to open the game. With an early 2-0 lead, junior Seth Stover took the mound and began to rattle off scoreless inning after scoreless inning. In the top of the third, the Hornet bats got back to work as junior Dylan Brisbois and sophomore Brady Unrein smacked back-to-back home runs to make it 4-0, Hornets.
After both teams were held scoreless in the fourth inning, the Hornets added their fifth run off an RBI-single from senior Cooper Schwindt. Stover stuffed the Lions offense in the bottom of the fifth, then junior Frankie Santiago hit a solo shot, and Unrein doubled in another run in the top of the sixth to make it 7-0. Then the Lions broke through in the bottom of the sixth as Stover couldn’t get an out before he was replaced. The Lions scored four runs in the inning to put themselves back in the game.
With the game close again, the Hornet bats decided to take matters into their own hands, scoring six runs in the top of the sixth inning. Junior Logan Myers drove in the first run on a single, then a Lions throwing error plated two more Hornets. Freshman Evan Abbott tacked on another run on an RBI double while Steele and Brisbois added three more runs on a fielder’s choice and a two-run RBI double.
After a scoreless bottom of the sixth from the Lions, the Hornets would run rule them as the bases got loaded and junior Nathon Cruz walked to drive in the 14th and final run. Unrein went 4-for-6 with two RBIs while Brisbois and Steele added three RBIs to lead the Hornet offense to a game one victory.
Game two of the series saw sophomore Colby Deaver take the mound, and he continued a strong start to the year. To start the game, Steele opened the scoring with an RBI single, and through the first four innings of the game, the Hornets scored at least one run. Myers drove in a run in the second, Steele and Unrein added one each in the third, and Santiago homered, and Myers scored on a caught stealing to give the Hornets a 6-0 lead through four innings.
The Lions answered back with a run in the bottom of the inning, but that would be all they got in the game. Deaver finished five innings, allowing three hits, one unearned run, a walk, and striking out nine Lions before the Hornet bullpen took over. The Hornets would tack on six more runs throughout the game, including a grand slam from Steele during a five-run eighth inning, leading to a Hornets 12-1 win in game two. Steele led the offense with six RBIs and three hits, while Myers added three hits of his own to go with four runs scored on the day.
In the third and final game of the series, the Hornets sent out freshman Quinton Chindamo to the mound to secure a sweep of a MIAA foe. The game started with both teams going scoreless through the first two innings before the Hornets’ offense came alive. In the top of the third, the Hornets broke through with a Myers RBI double, then Chindamo shut down the Lions in the bottom of the inning.
The fourth saw the Hornets add to their lead on a throwing error and an RBI groundout from Unrein to make it 3-0. After another shutdown inning from Chindamo, the Hornets exploded for a five-run fifth powered by a grand slam by Abbott, and the final run came from a wild pitch. With an 8-0 lead, the Hornets could just coast to a series sweep to open MIAA, but that would be too easy.
The Lions answered back with a four-run inning of their own in the bottom of the fifth inning and then had a shutdown top of the sixth. They added three more runs to make it 8-7 in their half of the sixth to make the Hornets sweat. Then the Hornets got back on track with back-to-back three-run innings in the seventh and eighth innings to take a 14-10 lead. They added two more in the ninth to take the game at 16-10 and sweep the Lions to start MIAA play.
Abbott and Frankie Santiago drove in four runs each to lead the offense, while Myers put together a three-hit game and scored thrice as well. The Hornets move to 12-1 on the season and 3-0 in MIAA play. Next up they return home to face Northwest Missouri on Feb. 27 to continue the early MIAA slate.