ST. CLOUD, Minn. – One team had 18 hits and 15 runs, the other had four and none. Unfortunately for the Missouri Western Baseball team, the latter was the line for the Griffons as the team lost in the opening round of the NCAA Central Regional, 15-0 to Arkansas at Monticello.

After two and a half innings of scoreless baseball, the Boll Weevils got to Richard Peoples in the bottom of the third, scoring four runs. They added five in the fifth off Preston Bailey and would go on to score three in the sixth, two in the seventh and one in the eighth. After Orencio Fisher was stranded at third to end the first inning, Missouri Western never got a runner past first base and did not have more than one runner on in any inning. Fisher, David Glaude, Alex Heuring and Andy Rieth had one hit apiece.

Peoples took the loss, falling to 10-4 on the season. He gave up four runs and seven hits in two and a third. Bailey went two and two thirds, allowing five funs, four earned on four hits. He also walked three. Chris Estrada, Blaine Werth and Joe Tieman pitched one inning apiece to get the Griffons to the end of the game. They allowed a combined six runs, all earned, on seven hits.

The fifth seeded Griffons will play No. 1 seed St. Cloud State in an elimination game at 10:00 a.m. Friday.  The Huskies lost to No. 8 seed Minnesota State 1-0 in 11 innings.

— MWSU Athletics —