Short Stop Kevin Wempe hits a single Wednesday afternoon against Pittsburg State on Glenne Field. The Hornets won the double header 14-2 and 14-10. PHOTO BY KELLEN JENKINS
The Emporia State baseball team played a doubleheader against the Pittsburg State Gorillas last night, winning the first game in a blowout 14-2 and the second game 14-10.
Junior right handed pitcher Ben Graham went five innings and allowed one run on 5 hits to get the win.
Senior infielder Connor Crumbliss got the leadoff single in the bottom of the first inning but the Hornets failed to drive in a run in the first inning.
Graham and the Hornets’ defense did not allow a run for three innings. After a Gorilla run in the fourth inning, Graham held the Gorillas to one run less in the fifth inning.
Following the fifth inning, the Hornets made a pitching change and brought in senior left hander Brett McBride. McBride pitched one inning and gave up one run on two hits.
The Hornets made another pitching change in the seventh inning to freshman right hander Justin Maxson who did not allow a hit, sealing the victory for the Hornets.
The Hornets scored their 14 runs on 18 hits. The Gorillas scored their two runs on 7 hits.
Both junior outfielder Chris Dobler and sophomore third baseman Kevin Wempe hit a homerun for the Hornets.
“It felt good to contribute to the win,” Wempe said. “I wanted to score some runs.”
The Hornets won the second game 14-10.
“It was two different ball games,” Wempe said. “Both teams got into the bullpen early and from there it was who could outscore who.”
The Gorillas scored 4 runs in the first inning on a grand slam hit off of Brett Mize. Mize struck the first batter but walked the next three and Jason Murphy hit the ball out of the park.
“(Mize) struggled a little bit,” Dobler said. “He is a good pitcher he just struggled and he will bounce back.”
Following the grand slam, the Hornets brought in right handed pitcher Dominic King, who pitched two innings and allowed five runs on five hits.
The Hornets answered with their own grand slam in the bottom of the first. Mitch Cooper walked the first three Hornets and Dobler blasted one out of the park to tie the game.
“It was a pretty good feeling,” Dobler said. “I got down two strikes and I was just trying to put the ball in play and it came off the bat pretty good.”
The Gorillas scored one run in the second inning to take the lead 5-4. The Hornets managed to get two men on base but failed to drive them in.
The Gorillas scored four more runs in the top of the fourth inning on a two run homerun to increase their lead to three runs. Once again, the Hornets answered with four of their own runs.
The Hornets took the lead in the sixth inning on two consecutive doubles that scored two runs, increasing the score to 11-9.
The Hornets shut out the Gorillas in five of the final six innings behind the arm of junior right hander Austin Anderson to complete the sweep of the Gorillas.
“He was the story of this game,” said head coach Bob Fornelli. “He came in and threw up a bunch of zeros and got us back in the game.”
The Hornets are now 30-6 and 19-3 in the MIAA. They will play Truman at 1 p.m. April 10 in Kirksville, Mo.
Matthew Pierce/The Bulletin
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