MIAA Pitcher of the Year Colby Deaver tossed a 130-pitch nine-inning complete game as the No. 6 seed Emporia State baseball team upset No. 3 seed Missouri Southern 4-2 at Wendell Simmons Field in Edmond, Okla. on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Tournament. It was a career-high in pitches and a career-long outing for Deaver (11-2) who picked up his second complete game of the year. ESU scored first in the top of the third on a two-run Brady Unrein single but Southern tied it the next inning. Nathon Cruz broke the tie on a solo shot in the sixth and the Hornets picked up an insurance run in the eighth on a Lion wild pitch. It was the first nine-inning complete game for the Hornets since Tanner Cairns went the distance against Southwest Baptist on March 22, 2019. ESU (36-15) faces No. 7 seed Missouri Western in the semifinals on Friday. The Griffons upset No. 2 seed Rogers State 9-5. First pitch has been moved up to 1 p.m. due to a forecast of inclement weather in Oklahoma on Friday.
He’s Going The Distance: 9-inning Complete Game for Deaver
Emporia State Power E logo. Courtesy ESU Athletics.
