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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Junior Guard Robert Moores fights for a layup against a Pittsburg State defender Wednesday night at White Auditorium. The Hornets beat the Gorillas 84-74./PHOTO BY KELLEN JENKINS

The Emporia State men’s basketball team qualifies for the MIAA tournament action after a 65-54 win over Pittsburg State Wednesday.

The Hornets came into the competition after losing to Missouri Southern, with an overall record of 15-9 and 9-8 in conference play. They were led by junior guard Robert Moores, who averages 16 points and two rebounds per game this year.

On the other side, the Gorillas are 10-13 in overall play and 5-11 in the MIAA. They are led by senior guard Carlos Taylor, who averages 17 points per game. Their team leading rebounder, TJ Stukes, averages 7.8 rebounds per game this year.

This was the 176^th meeting between these two teams with ESU leading the series winning 89 and loosing 86 games between these two teams. Last time these two teams met, junior guard Lamar Wilbern scored 27 points and 16 rebounds while defeating the Gorillas 102-100 in an MIAA, tying four overtimes in Pittsburg    Kansas.

The Hornets shot 54 percent on the night with junior forward Adam Holthaus, who lead in scoring with 16 points and eight rebounds on the night.

The Gorillas made 21-45 of their shots on the night with Stukes leading in scoring with 12 points two assists and nine rebounds on the night.                                                   Midway in the first half, junior guard Tim Niles sank a basket that gave the Hornets a 12-11 lead.

After eight lead changes in the first half, Robert Moores missed both foul shots and left the Gorillas with a 29-26 lead.                                                                                                                 Later in the first half, the Hornets struggled with shooting, completing 34 percent of their shots. Holthaus scored nine points, five rebounds and one assist.

“The biggest difference in making shots from the first half from the second half was that we were attacking the basket in the second half and not attacking the basket in the first just settling for the first thing we can fling up,” said Head Coach David Moe. “With that comes a little hangover effect from the end of the last game and once you get away from that and start attacking the paint from inside out it makes shots easier.”

The Gorillas led 29-26 at the end of the first half and completed 12-26 of their attempted shots.                                                                                                                                     Midway through the second half, the Hornets regained momentum with a 50-41 lead after sophomore guard Jordan Stout sank a three pointer.

“We had to continue to be patient,” Wilbern said. “The shots we going to fall and when we missed shots we stopped pressing. We did a good job being patient and waiting on things to open up.”                                                                                                                                                The Hornets are now 16-9 in overall play and 9-8 in the conference.

Cristian Echeverria/The Bulletin

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