ST. JOSEPH – The same storyline played out for the third day in a row between the Missouri Western and Missouri Southern baseball teams on Sunday. But this time roles were reversed as the Griffons dominated offensively in a 12-2 run-rule victory.

David Glaude’s RBI single up the middle in the bottom of the seventh plated the run that salvaged Missouri Western its only win in the series after falling 14-2 and 12-2 in the first two games of the series. Evan Jones performance on the mound helped the Griffons (15-8, 7-5) cause. Jones went all seven innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits. He struck out three and walked three, improving his record to 3-0 on the year.

Jeremy Alvardo finished a triple short of hitting for the cycle, going 4-4 with five RBIs and three runs scored. Alvarado drove in Missouri Western’s first three runs of the game with a solo home run in the second and a two-run double in the third that prompted a six-run inning for the Griffons. Glaude went 3-4 with one RBI and three runs scored. Landon Mason improved his season average to .436 with a 2-4 day at the plate and two RBIs.

Missouri Western stays at home this coming Tuesday, April 22 for a single game with Emporia State.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Missouri Western softball team finished the weekend with a 5-1 overall record at the Apple Market Classic. The Griffons won in dominating fashion against Wayne State 14-6 in six innings and fell to Augustana in the final game 12-5 in the final day Sunday.

Game 1

The Griffons fell behind early in the game in the opening games of the day. MWSU allowed five runs in the second and a solo home run in the third inning. The Wildcats took a 6-0 lead heading into the fourth inning.

Shyanne Saladino entered the game as pitcher and silenced the Wildcat bats, pitching four innings and allowing just three hits and no run. The Griffon offense came alive, scoring at least four runs in the fourth, five and sixth inning.

MWSU picked up three walks in the fourth innings, helping the Griffons score five runs in the inning. Morgan Rathmann and Katie Klostermann each contributed with RBIs in the inning.

In the fifth inning, Sydney Washington recorded a three-run home run while Taylor Hamilton and Rathmann also picked up RBIs. MWSU took a 10-6 lead heading into the sixth.

The Griffons finished off the Wildcats as they added four more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Five different Griffons had multiple hits in the game, led by Klostermann and Washington. Washington picked up five RBIs and Klostermann produced three hits and three runs.

Game 2

MWSU was not able to extend their winning streak past Augustana. The Vikings were able to score in six of the seven innings and tally at least one hit in six innings.
Augustana was able to gain an early advantage, scoring one run in the both the first and second innings compared to the Griffons one run. Augustana carried its 2-1 lead into the top of the fifth inning.

Augustana was able to power a two-run home run to right field, extending their lead to 4-1. The Griffons were able to respond with timely hits in the bottom half of the inning, scoring three-run to even the score at 4-4. The Griffons loaded the bases and Hamilton eventually tallied an RBI and Kailey Green recorded a double to right field, picking up two RBIs.

Augustana was too much for the Griffons as they scored three more runs in the sixth inning and five more runs in the seventh inning.
Kailey Green had three hits in the game, picking up four RBIs in the process. Five other Griffons had one hit in the game and Hamilton had the other RBI.

The Griffons will be on the road and back in conference action as they face off against Lindenwood University and Lincoln. MWSU will play Lindenwood on Friday starting at 2 p.m. and Lincoln on Saturday starting at 11 a.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Missouri Western women’s tennis team rebounded after their first loss of the season with a dominating performance against Ottawa, winning 8-1.

Missouri Western was able to record a sweep in singles competition as Yasmine El Ghazi and Sofia Aguilera earned victories in the No. 1 and No. 2 singles spots. Denise Chiao was able to earn a victory in the No. 6 singles spot by a score of 6-3 and 6-2.

The Griffons were able to take two of three doubles matches. El Ghazi and Aguilera won 9-8 in their match and Joanna Abreu Roman and Sarah Giraldo earned a convincing 8-0 victory in the No.2 doubles match.

Singles competition
1. El Ghazi, Yasmine (MWSU) def. Corfield,Allison (OU) 6-1, 6-2
2. Aguilera, Sofia (MWSU) def. Luedyke,Jennifer (OU) 6-1, 6-3
3. Giraldo, Sarah (MWSU) def. Bellew,Madeline (OU) 6-3, 7-6
4. Abreu Roman, Joanna (MWSU) def. Laures,Taylor (OU) 6-2, 6-4
5. Smith, Meara (MWSU) def. Hibbs,Lexis (OU) 6-1, 6-2
6. Chiao, Denise (MWSU) def. Rodriguez,Stephanie (OU) 6-3, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Aguilera, Sofia/El Ghazi, Yasmine (MWSU) def. Corfield,Allison/Luedyke,Jennifer (OU) 9-8
2. Abreu Roman, Joanna/Giraldo, Sarah (MWSU) def. Good,Danika/Peterson,Kimisha (OU) 8-0
3. Bellew,Madeline/Laures,Taylor (OU) def. Beger, Lindsay/Chiao, Denise (MWSU) 8-4

Missouri Western will hit the road as they take on Fort Hays State on Friday afternoon starting at 2 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Missouri Western Softball earned two non-conference victories on Friday afternoon, beating University of Mary 8-1 and Northern State University 11-1.

Game 1

The Griffons were able to score all eight of their runs in the first four innings of the game. Morgan Rathmann was the first to cross the plate as she scored on an error by the catcher as Paige Shifflett was stealing second base. The Griffons added a second run when Katie Klostermann singled to left field to score Shifflett.

Missouri Western continued to add to its lead as Shelbie Atwell tripled, bringing home two more runs. The Griffons added two more runs in the inning, giving the Griffons a 6-0 lead after the second inning.

Kailey Green added a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning for the final run, giving the Griffons an 8-1 victory. She finished the game two for three, scoring two runs and recording two RBIs. Rathmann finished the game with three runs scored.

Shyanne Saladino finished the game, pitching all seven innings. She struck out seven batters while allowing just four hits and one earned run.

Game 2

Missouri Western continued its dominance, scoring 11 runs in the second game of the doubleheader and limiting Northern State to just one run.

MWSU put together an eight run fifth inning. Rebekah Mueller eventually ended the game with her grand slam to center field in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Griffons were able to get RBIs from Taylor Hamilton and Sydney Washington in the inning.

Paige Shifflett and Sydney Washington also tallied home runs in the game. Shifflett finished the game with two runs and one hit as well. Washington contributed three RBIs to go along with her two hits and two runs.

Janie Smith was solid in the circle as she recorded three strikeouts and allowed just one run on two hits.

The Griffons will continue the Apple Market Classic on Saturday, taking on Winona State at Noon and University of Sioux Falls at 2 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western baseball team’s eight-game winning streak came to a halt on Friday as the team narrowly avoided being no-hit in a 14-2, seven inning loss to Missouri Southern.

Missouri Southern starter Cody Hutchinson was perfect through four innings, but surrendered his first base runner with one out in the fifth when he hit Nick Gawley with a pitch. Missouri Western didn’t see another base runner until the sixth when Alex Heuring drew a one-out walk. With two down in the bottom of the sixth, Landon Mason singled, then David Glaude followed with a two-RBI double to right.

Hutchinson picked up the win, going six innings and allowing two hits, two runs, walking one and striking out nine. Mason, Glaude and Jeremy Alvarado were the only Griffons to pick up a hit in the game. Conner Schwienebart got the start and lasted two and two-thirds. He allowed five runs on four hits.

The loss dropped Missouri Western to 14-7 overall and 6-4 in the MIAA. The two teams play game two of the series, Saturday, at 1 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Missouri Western baseball team has now won eight straight games, picking up two wins on Tuesday afternoon at Truman State. MWSU earned a 6-1 victory in game one and hit their way into the record book in game two, winning 19-9.

GAME 1: MWSU 6, Truman State 1

Missouri Western won its seventh straight game in impressive fashion, jumping out to a 6-0 lead before winning 6-1 at Truman State.

David Glaude started another hot game at the plate with an RBI single in the first. Landon Mason added his own RBI single in the second and Cosimo Cannella drove in two with an RBI in the second to put the Griffons up 4-0 after two. Glaude picked up another RBI with a solo home run in the fourth. Glaude finished 3-5 in the game with two RBIs.

Alex Clavet got the win, pitching six innings and allowing just four hits and one earned run. Clavet struck out four and walked two. Preston Bailey finished off Truman State, pitching the seventh and recording two strikeouts.

Game 2: MWSU 19, Truman State 9

Missouri Western erupted for 28 hits and 19 runs in the second game of the double header. The 28 hits are the most by any team in Griffon Baseball history and tied a record by bringing 53 players to the plate.

In the opening inning, the Griffons scored six runs on seven hits on the first 15 pitches. Nick Gawley produced the first runs of the game, doubling down the left field line and picking up two RBIs. Brandon Downs followed that up with an RBI single through the left side. Cannella continued the hot bats, hitting a three-run home run to left field giving the Griffons a 6-0 lead.

Jeremy Alvarado blasted his way into the record books as well. He had three home runs in the game and 13 total bases, putting him in first in both categories in Griffon history. Alvardo had a two-run home run in the fourth inning, and solo home runs coming in the fifth and ninth inning.

Brandon Downs also contributed a three-run home run in the top of the fifth inning. Downs finished the game with three-runs scored and five RBIs. Cannella finished the game with three-runs scored and five RBIs as well. Three other Griffons picked up at least one RBI in the game.

Richard Peoples tallied the win, as he pitched one inning while facing four batters. He is now 3-1 on the season. Evan Jones got the start on the mound, lasting three innings and allowing just one run. The Griffons used four other pitchers to complete the game.

Missouri Western will return home for a three game series against Missouri Southern starting March 18 at 4 p.m. They will finish the series on Saturday and Sunday with expected start times of 1 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Missouri Western Women’s Golf finished its home tournament Tuesday in third place with a team score of 635. Shi Qing Ong finished tied for first place individually, firing a 148 in her two rounds of golf.

Missouri Western was led by Ong while Madison Romjue scored a 159 and tied for 11th in the tournament. Callie Wilson also had two solid rounds finishing with a 163 and tied for 18th individually. Tiffanie Yabut scored a 165 and Celine Lim finished the tournament at 167.

The Griffons finished behind Lindenwood University, reporting a team score of 614 for second place and William Woods University was the overall winner with a 614. Missouri Western finished five strokes ahead of Iowa Western CC and 24 strokes ahead of Central Missouri.

MWSU will have a week off before returning to action as they will head to Kearney, Nebraska on March 24 to compete at Awarii Dunes.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western senior guard LaQuinta Jefferson has added another postseason award. The senior guard was named D2CCA first team All-Region.

Jefferson was joined on the team by Kelly Moten of Emporia State, Jordan Goforth of Arkansas Monticello, Taylor Varsho of Sioux Falls and Central Region Player of the year, Fatima Adams of Arkansas Tech. Jefferson capped a standout career at Missouri Western by being named MIAA Player of the Year and first team All-MIAA, her second first team selection. Injuries slowed her in the postseason and hampered her final stat line, but she still averaged 20.3 points per game. She also became the 19th Griffon to score 1,000 points in her career, finishing with 1,081 points and an MWSU record, 20.8 career point per game average.

She was also part of an amazing turnaround that brought the program its first MIAA regular season championship since 2002 and first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2005. The team set a program record with 26 regular season wins and set a new MIAA record with 20 conference wins.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Fatima Adams, Arkansas Tech

FIRST TEAM
^Fatima Adams, Arkansas Tech
LaQuinta Jefferson, Missouri Western
Taylor Varsho, Sioux Falls
Jordan Goforth, Arkansas-Monticello
Kelly Moten, Emporia State

SECOND TEAM
Rosa Bryant, Southern Arkansas
Alexis Foley, Winona State
Brittney Dietz, Mary
Shelby Winkelmann, Central Missouri
Katria Nordick, Minnesota-Crookston

^ Denotes 2014-15 All-Central Region First-Team selection

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Missouri Western women’s golf team currently sits in second place after Monday’s first round of the Holiday Inn Express Classic at the St. Joseph Country Club.  MWSU has a team score of 313 after day one.

The Griffons were led by Shi Qing Ong as she scored a 73 in her first round of golf. She is currently tied for first place individually with Calia Mansour of William Woods and Sena Ersoy of Iowa Western. Ong’s round of 73 ties her career-low at Missouri Western.

Missouri Western also had solid rounds from Madison Romjue and Callie Wilson as they each scored a 79 in their opening round. They currently sit tied for 12th in the individual standings. Tiffanie Yabut and Celine Lim tallied an 82 and 83, respectively.

William Woods currently sits in first place with a team score of 301 after the first round. They had four players score in the 70’s. Missouri Western sits just ahead of Lindenwood as the Lions scored a 314. Iowa Western currently sits fourth, firing a 314 in their opening round.

The final round of play will start at 9 a.m. at the St. Joseph Country Club.

— MWSU Athletics —