BOLIVAR, Mo. – Eleven runs was good enough for a win in game two of a doubleheader at Southwest Baptist for the Missouri Western baseball team, but it wasn’t enough for a win in game one.
The two teams split the twin bill on Friday with Southwest Baptist handing the Griffons their eighth walk-off loss in game one. Five different Griffons hit home runs on the day as the team’s record moves to 24-18 overall and 17-13 in the MIAA.
GAME 1: SBU 12, MWSU 11
The Griffons hit five home runs in the game, three in the first three innings, but it was a Southwest Baptist home run that made the difference in the game. Trevor Bowling’s solo home run with one out in the bottom of the seventh off Richard Peoples handed MWSU its eighth walk-off loss of the season.
The Griffons got off to an incredible start, jumping out to a 6-0 lead on home runs by David Glaude, Brandon Downs and Cody Childs. Glaude hit his first of two homers in the game in the first to put the Griffs up 3-0. Downs led off the second with a solo shot and Childs’ two-run shot in the third gave Missouri Western what appeared to be a comfortable lead.
SBU would get five in the bottom of the fourth after the first seven Bearcats reached base in the inning. Starter A.J. Martinez put the first six on, including three walks and a home run. Kyle Kelly allowed a two-RBI single to the first batter he faced but Ryan Degner threw out a runner to record the second out of the inning. Kelly limited the damage to five, getting the next batter to ground out. After an error allowed Orencio Fisher to score in the top of the fifth, Cosimo Canella hit a two-run home run to put MWSU up 9-5 but Southwest Baptist scored six in the sixth to take an 11-9 lead. Glaude’s second home run of the game tied the game at 11 in the top of the seventh but Bowling’s solo shot ended it.
Peoples took the loss, his second of the season. Fisher was 3-4 with three runs scored. Childs was 2-3 with three driven in and three runs scored. Glaude went 2-4 with four driven in and two runs scored. Cannella, Dylon Koch, Downs and Michael Yeager were the only other Griffons to get hits. Martinez went the first three innings, giving up five runs on five hits with three walks and a strikeout. Kelly went an inning and a third, allowing five runs on three hits.
GAME 2: MWSU 11, SBU 3
Trevor Bowling picked up where he left off in game one, blasting a two-run home run in the second inning off Weston Caindec but it was all Griffons from that point on as MWSU scored 11 again, this time holding SBU to just three runs for the win.
After falling behind 2-0 in the second, the Griffons piled on five runs in the top of the third to go up by three. Cody Childs got the scoring going with an RBI-single. Childs capped off the inning when he reached on an error that allowed Orencio Fisher to scored. David Glaude drove in three in the inning with an RBI-single and a two-RBI double. Fisher drove in Ryan Degner in the seventh to put MWSU up 10-3 and Degner hit the Griffons’ sixth home run of the day in the top of the ninth with a two-run shot to left.
Fisher went 4-6 with an RBI and two runs scored in game two. On the day, the junior was 7-10 with five runs scored. Glaude picked up three more hits and three more RBIs in game two going 3-5 in game two to finish the day, 5-9 with seven driven in. Matt Russell picked up the win in relief. He went three and two thirds in relief of Caindec, allowing just one run on two hits. Josh Lansangan did not allow a hit, pitching the final four innings of the game.
The two teams play another doubleheader Friday beginning at 1 p.m.
— MWSU Sports Information —