With Emporia State’s magical run in the World Series finally over, it’s never too early to ask: What about next year?
The Hornets could be even better next season. They return their entire infield that played masterful defense in the postseason, their top two postseason pitchers in Colby Killian and Ben Graham and in visiting with Bob Fornelli on Saturday night after their loss, it sounds as if Hornets have a great recruiting class coming in.
But even if the team is better, that doesn’t mean a return to the World Series is a given. Baseball is a funny game. If the Regional tournament would have started a week earlier, the Hornets might not have won a game.
So to try to forecast what will happen next year might be next to impossible, but, hey, I’m a sportswriter. That’s what we do.
I can say with absolute certainty that Emporia State will make the Regional next year. Bob Fornelli has been at Emporia State for six years and he’s 6-for-6 in making it to the Regional with two of those teams — 2006 and 2009 — making it to the World Series.
As long as Fornelli is around, he’s going to keep bringing in the talent and he’s a good enough coach that his teams will consistently win enough games.
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