The Emporia State baseball team hit a season-high six home runs in a 15-5 win to level their three game series with #2 Central Missouri on Saturday at the Trusler Sports Complex. After shutting out the Mules in the first three innings, the Hornets exploded by scoring 12 of the game’s next 13 runs over the next three innings. Konnor Hatfield started the scoring with a solo home run in the fifth before Kadyn Williams delivered a grand slam later in the inning to make it 5-0. ESU tallied again in the fourth on a two-run blast from Hatfield on the way to scoring three runs. The Hornets then took advantage of Mule mistakes with three unearned runs in the fifth inning after an RBI double by T. J. Racherbaumer. After UCM fought back with three, the Hornets scored three of the game’s last four runs on solo homers by Joe Daneff, Dom Oliverio, and a walk off by Jovanni Toledo that delivered a run-rule victory in the eighth for ESU. Graham Brunner (3-1) matched season highs with 7.0 innings of work while tying a season high of nine strikeouts to earn the win. Head coach Brad Hill was very plain when asked what it took to get the win.
Brunner gave credit to his defense for backing him up.
The ESU win ended a 13-game winning streak for Central Missouri. The teams play for a series victory on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Pregame coverage begins at 12:45 p.m. on Mix 104.9. Listen online at KVOE.com/listen.
