Missouri Western’s offense proved to be too much for the Lincoln baseball team on Sunday as the Griffons won both games of a double header to sweep the season series. Missouri Western took the first game, 11-1, and shut out Lincoln in the second, 19-0. Both contests lasted seven innings. The Griffons had 36 hits in the two contests with Ryan Degner tallying seven hits and Jake Schrader getting five. The Griffons imrove to 19-14 on the season and 15-11 in MIAA play.
Missouri Western (19-14, 15-11 MIAA) scored five runs in the top of the first in game one, added two in the second and plated four more in the fifth en route to the win. Lincoln used three pitchers in the game, with Joe Jungmeyer starting and tossing two strikeouts. Gus Goodnight came in as the reliever and allowed just one earned run through two frames. Joshua Register was the closer, giving up just one hit and no runs in the final inning.
The Griffons were led by Dylan Koch and Degner with each getting three hits in the contest. Trevor LaHonta and Mitch Thorman each had two while Degner and Schrader each had three RBI. Koch scored three runs while LaHonta and Degner each had two. On the bump Jake Jones improved to 4-2 with in five innings of work. He went five innings allowing three hits with five strikeouts. Defensively Hunter Weiss had five putouts while Cody Childs ha four assists.
Gatlin Wiggans had two of Lincoln’s four hits, with the others coming from Ben Stewart and Zach Roberts. Defensively, LU was led by Kaleb Davis and Wiggans, as each player contributed four putouts. Christian Bunch and Roberts each added three putouts and Nick Lovell, Logan Smith and Stewart were all responsible for two putouts apiece. Stewart and Josh Kennedy tied for the team-lead with two assists.
The second game featured plenty of offensive fireworks by the Griffons, who totaled 22 hits, including six homeruns and five doubles. Missouri Western scored three runs each in the second, third, fourth and six frames, and in the fifth inning put five runs across the board. Lincoln opened the game well, allowing just one run in the first frame after the Griffons loaded the bases, but timely power hitting allowed MWSU to quickly take control of the contest.
Lincoln had two good opportunities to get on the board, starting in the fifth inning. After the first two LU batters grounded out, Roberts hit a single into right field. A throwing error allowed Wiggans to safely reach, continuing the inning, and Stewart followed with a base hit to load the bases. The next batter struck out, however, keeping Lincoln off the board. Later, in the seventh inning, Steve Benton picked up his first hit as a Blue Tiger with a blast into right centerfield that came just short of crossing over the fence. Benton settled for a double, but was unable to score as MWSU ended the game with the shutout win.
In the game two Schrader and Degner each had four hits while Lahonta tallied three. Koch, David Chew, Weiss and Thorman each had two. Degner had five RBI and scored four runs while Schrader had four RBI. Schrader and Degner each hit two home runs in the game. Mark Spreckels picked up the victory in game two for the Griffons going four innings allowing just one hit. He improves to 2-0 with the victory. Tyler Tuepker went two innings with two hits and two strikeouts while Banks Born went one inning allowing just one hit and two strikeouts.
The Blue Tigers’ four hits in the second game were accounted for by Roberts, Stewart, Benton and Kennedy. Davis led the defense with six putouts and Martin Gulley recorded five while Bunch again finished with three. Kennedy had two assists while Lovell tallied one. Starting pitcher John Bisges struck out three batters while Dalton Goings and Register each fanned one. Goodnight also appeared on the mound in the second game.The Tigers fall to 1-27 on the year and 0-24 in MIAA play.
The Griffons return to MIAA play next weekend when they host the Pittsburg State Gorillas in a four game series in St. Joseph. The two teams will play the first game on Friday, April 11 with a single nine inning game starting at 6 p.m.
— MWSU Sports Information —