JOPLIN, Mo. – Griffon Softball (28-14, 15-5) swept its fifth-straight MIAA series and climbed into second place in the MIAA standings with a pair of wins, Friday, at Missouri Southern (17-20, 8-12).

Missouri Western extended its win streak with an extra-inning shutout and a bit of a hit parade on Friday in Joplin.

The 10-game winning streak is the longest since a 10-game streak late in the 2016 season that included a 4-0 run through the MIAA Softball Championships. The wins left the Griffons technically tied for second place in the standings with 2018 MIAA champion Washburn. Missouri Western is 15-5 and Washburn is 12-4 after splitting a doubleheader with Nebraska-Kearney on Friday.

GAME 1
Missouri Western 1, Missouri Southern 0 (11 innings)

• Cassidy Kelsheimer hit a sacrifice fly to center field in the 11^th to drive in the only run of the game
• Emma Hoffart led off the 11^th with a single and advanced to third when Missouri Southern threw away Sydni Hawkins’ sacrifice bunt attempt to put runners on the corners with no one out
• Tamara Hicks entered to run for Hoffart and scored the winning run on Kelsheimer’s sac-fly
• Kaili Hinds pitched an 11-inning complete game shutout, holding Southern to nine hits. She struck out two and didn’t walk a batter to improve to 13-3 on the season
• Hawkins went 2-for-3 to extend her hitting streak to 12 games
• Hoffart was 2-for-5

GAME 2
Missouri Western 10, Missouri Southern 5

• A three-run top of the seventh quieted any thoughts of a Missouri Southern comeback
• MWSU led 6-1 after scoring two in the top of the fourth, but Missouri Southern scored four in the bottom half to pull within one
• The Griffons got one in the fifth and then the three-run seventh to put the game out of reach
• MWSU tied a program single-game record with seven doubles
• Morgan Frost had two of the doubles to move into second in the MIAA with 17 this season
• Hawkins went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs scored. She doubled and tripled to push her hitting streak to 13 games
• All but one Griff in the starting lineup had at least a hit
• Marissa Guenther went 2-for-4 with a double and a triple
• Olivia Goodale allowed just one hit over the final 3 1/3 innings

UP NEXT

• The Griffs travel to Pittsburg State (21-22, 9-9) for a doubleheader Saturday that is scheduled to begin at noon.

— MWSU Athletics —