#10 Baseball extends streak

Chris Hunter / The Bulletin

Senior short-stop Andy Anderson tries to beat the throw as he slides into second base against Southwest Baptist. ESU swept SBU in the four-game series and moved up to 12-0 in MIAA play.

The tenth ranked Emporia State baseball team tied the school record for most consecutive wins as the Hornets extended its win streak to 19 with a four game sweep of Southwest Baptist this weekend. In the first day of the series, ESU beat SBU 8-0 in game one and 10-1 in game two. On Saturday the Hornets won 6-2 in game one and 6-4 in game two with the help of a four run eighth inning.

In Friday's first game senior Tyler Applehans took the mound for ESU. Applehans put in seven innings of work in the shutout as he had 10 strikeouts and allowed only five hits. Senior catcher Keith Hernandez got the scoring started for ESU as he hit in two runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Hornets then went scoreless for the next two innings before picking up three runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take an 8-0 lead which proved to be the final scoring of the game.

Applehans picked up the win and moved to 6-0 on the season. Senior first baseman Matt Marasco led ESU by going three for three with two RBI as Hernandez went two for three with two RBI and one run scored.

Senior Brock Nehls got the start for ESU in game two as he also put in seven innings of work and surrendered only one run which came in the second inning. Nehls had six strikeouts on the day. The Hornets continued to score early as ESU scored three runs in the first inning and added three more in the second to take a 6-1 lead. The Hornets then added four more runs in the eighth inning to win 10-1.

Head coach Bob Fornelli was pleased with the pitching from both starters.

"Our pitching was outstanding today," Fornelli said. "When you only give up one run in 16 innings, you're going to win a lot of those games and hopefully we'll keep that up."

ESU scored the 10 runs on 10 hits as designated hitter Conner Crumbliss led the way with three RBI on three for five and also scored two runs. Crumbliss returned to the line up in game one as the designated hitter for the first time since sustaining an injury earlier in the season. Junior center fielder Kellen Lane went two for four with one run scored and two RBI.

Crumbliss was glad to be back in the lineup but said it took some time to adjust to being back in the game.

"The first game I was kind of tight, I wasn't sure if I was ready to come back, but I got comfortable near the end of the game and in the second game I felt pretty normal," Crumbliss said. "I hadn't seen live pitching in four and a half weeks so those first at bats were kind of tough to pick up the ball a little bit. In the second game I started to get on it a little better."

Fornelli was also happy to see Crumbliss make a return to the field.

"He did a really good job for us, found a way to first base," Fornelli said. "It's good to have him back; he's only going to get better as time goes by."

In game one of Saturday's double header, senior Richard Timbrook pitched six strong innings as he gave up two runs on eight hits and had 11 strikeouts. ESU controlled most of the game as the Hornets were able to use its high powered offense to take a 6-0 lead going into the fifth inning. SBU scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning, but it wasn't enough as the Hornets held on for a 6-2 win. Timbrook picked up his third win of the season to move up to 3-0 overall.

Senior shortstop Andy Anderson went two for three with two RBI as junior second baseman Anthony Dreiling went one for three with both of his RBI coming from a homerun in the bottom of the third inning.

In the final game of the series, ESU found itself in uncommon territory as the Hornets didn't score in the first three innings and then played from behind for a majority of the game. SBU put up two runs in the fifth inning after ESU put in one run the half inning before. ESU then answered with one run in the sixth inning to tie the game at two, but SBU put up two more runs in seventh inning to jump out to a 4-2 lead over the Hornets.

Going into the bottom of the eighth inning the Hornets were still trailing 2-4. After getting runners on base, freshman third baseman Kevin Wempe hit a double to drive in the tying run to knot the game at four. Anderson came up to bat next and hit another double to drive in what proved to be the game winning run as ESU took a 5-4 lead.

"He threw me four sliders in a row," Anderson said. "I thought he was going to throw me another slider and he threw it and I just poked it through the left side."

The Hornets then added one more run in the inning to lead 6-4 going into the ninth inning. ESU was able to hold on after shutting out SBU in the final half inning.

Senior Daniel Waggoner picked up the win for ESU as he came in and pitched five innings of relief after junior started Ryan Anthony pitched the first four innings. Waggoner allowed two runs on two hits and had two strikeouts.

Anderson went two for three on the day with one run scored and one RBI as Hernandez went two for three with one RBI, one run scored and three unassisted putouts.

Anderson thought the close game and playing from behind will benefit the team later in the season.

"I think it helps us because it shows that we can come back in close situations and when we need to bear down and get some big hits or make some big plays," Anderson said. "We can do it and we need to trust ourselves when they're close games."

The four wins over the weekend put the Hornets at 26-3 on the year and 12-0 in MIAA play. ESU sits atop the MIAA with the 12-0 record in front of second play University of Central Missouri. Senior left fielder Brian Majors also extended his team high hitting streak to 20 games over the weekend.