ST. JOSEPH – Griffon Baseball (27-22, 19-16) bounced back in a big way on Saturday, evening its series with Nebraska Kearney (28-21, 21-14) with a 16-6 win in eight innings on Senior Night at the Spring Sports Complex.
Missouri Western pounded out 14 hits in the game, four for extra bases. After Nebraska Kearney took its first lead since the first inning with a two-run sixth, the Griffons answered with seven runs in the bottom half of the sixth to stake a 12-6 lead. Missouri Western added another run in the seventh and scored three in the eighth, ending with Fahd Shakeel’s third RBI of the game.
Prior to the game, 10 Griffon seniors were recognized: Nick Schranck, Ryan Fisher, Preston Bailey, Chase Wiger, Levi Schreiner, Dustin Agnew, Trever Carroll, Nate Hunter, Ryan Smith and Adam Jelovic.
NOTABLES
- The win again tied Missouri Western with Emporia State for sixth place in the MIAA standings. MWSU does hold the tie-breaker over the Hornets with a 2-1 series win.
- There was a total of 40 minutes of delays in the game. First pitch was pushed back 10 minutes due to heavy rain and the game was stopped for 30 minutes in the bottom of the seventh for lightning.
- Levi Schreiner went 4-for-5 with four RBIs and three runs scored. He gave MWSU its first lead with a two-run home run in the first.
- Shakeel finshed 3-for-6 with three RBIs
- Maurice Bruce drove in three with a double in the fourth and went 2-for-5 at the plate
- Preston Bailey (4-3) picked up the win in relief, tossing 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
- The Griffon bullpen allowed just two hits and no runs over three innings of work in relief of starter Jacob Miller.
UP NEXT
The Griffons try to win the final series of the regular season in the 2018 finale, Sunday, at 1 p.m.
