ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Missouri Western baseball team completed a three-game sweep of Pittsburg State on Friday afternoon with wins of 17-10 in game one and 4-0 in game two. MWSU has now won six straight games as they improve to 12-6 this season and 6-3 in the MIAA.

Game 1

Missouri Western continued its hot streak with the bats as they plated 17 runs and tallied 18 hits in the game. The Griffons scored at least four runs in three innings which included four runs in the third inning, five runs in the fourth innings, and six runs in the sixth inning. Every batter for the Griffons recorded at least one hit.

The Griffons allowed the Gorillas to score one run in the top of the first inning and responded quickly getting a run in the bottom of the second inning when David Glaude tripled to open the inning and eventually scored.

Missouri Western added four runs in the bottom of the third inning. The inning was started by Landon Mason and Cosimo Cannella both reaching base. Glaude recorded his second triple of the game bringing home two runners. Brandon Downs also blasted a solo home run in the inning giving the Griffons a 5-2 lead.

The Griffons scored five more runs in the fourth inning which featured runs by Cannella, Landon Mason, Downs, and Glaude. The Griffons continued to add to their lead in the sixth inning with six more runs.  Glaude added to his big day with a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth. Senior’s Orencio Fisher and Cannella each added two-run RBI’s to finish off the inning.

The Griffons used four pitchers in the game allowing the Gorillas 11 hits and 10 runs in the game.

Game 2

Missouri Western finished the series off with a 4-0 win against Pittsburg St. The Griffons managed to record eight hits and leave 14 runners on base. MWSU allowed the Gorillas to record just six hit in the game.

The Griffons logged their first runs of the game in the bottom of the second inning on an error by the pitcher, throwing to the first basemen. Alex Huering reached base and advanced to third, scoring Brandon Downs and Jeremy Alvarado on the play.

MWSU was able to score one run each in the fifth and sixth inning. Gawley was able to score on a wild pitch, giving the Griffons a 3-0 lead. The final run for the Griffons was recorded with a sac fly by Cannella, driving home Landon Mason.

Evan Jones and Jared Lloyd each pitched four innings and allowed just three hits each in their innings of work.  Jones recorded two strikeouts and Lloyd picked up the win.

The Griffons will remain at home against Missouri Southern next weekend starting at 4 p.m. on Friday evening.

— MWSU Athletics —

PITTSBURG, Kan. – A season for the ages came to an end Friday night in the NCAA Central Regional for the Missouri Western Women’s basketball team. The Griffons were knocked off, 81-80, by Arkansas Tech in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Pittsburg, KS.

Chelsea Dewey tied the game for the 10th time with 1:16 left on a layup and gave the Griffons a 78-77 lead on a free throw after she was fouled during the layup. Arkansas Tech led 80-77 with 13 seconds left and Sarafina Handy had a three-point attempt blocked with six seconds to go. Arkansas Tech made it a four-point game after a Missouri Western foul on the blocked three-point attempt. Sefulu Faavae made a three-point attempt at the buzzer to make the final score, 81-80.

The third seeded Griffons were hurt by 23 turnovers that resulted in 23 Arkansas Tech points. Missouri Western ended the game even with Arkansas Tech on the glass, but the Golden Suns pulled down 18 offensive rebounds that led to 18 second-chance points. Both teams ended the game with 30 made field goals. Missouri Western shot 55.6 from the field, 61.5 percent from three-point range and 80 percent at the free throw line.

Dwanisha Tate led Missouri Western with a career-high 22 points, surpassing her previous high of 14 points in the second quarter. Handy finished her last game as a Griffon shooting 5-7 from beyond the arc and turning in 17 points. Faavae ended with a career-high 14 points and a team-high five rebounds. Chelsea Dewey finished with 11 points.

The loss dropped Missouri Western to 27-4 in a season that will remain in the MWSU record books. The Griffons set a program record with 26 regular season wins, an MIAA record with 20 conference wins, won the program’s first MIAA regular season championship since 2002 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.

— MWSU Athletics —

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The Missouri Western softball team stretched its winning streak to seven games with its third straight doubleheader sweep to begin MIAA play on Friday at Central Missouri. The Griffons did not allow a run in two victories in Warrensburg to improve their record to 16-6 overall and 6-0 in MIAA play.

Game 1: MWSU 8, Central Missouri 0

Shelbie Atwell drove in seven runs, including her second grand slam of the year and Janie Smith picked up where she left off last week in an 8-0 Missouri Western win to open the doubleheader.

Atwell put Missouri Western up 2-0 in the fourth with a two-RBI single to the pitcher. She made it 3-0 in the sixth with an RBI-single to center. Katie Klosterman scored on a wild pitch in the seventh to put the Griffons up 3-0 then it was Atwell’s turn again. She cleared the bases with a grand slam to left in the seventh that put Missouri Western up 8-0.

Atwell finished 4-5 with seven RBIs and one run scored. Smith improved to 9-3 with her fourth shutout of the season. She went the distance, allowing five hits, striking out five and walking three.

Game 2: MWSU 2, Central Missouri 0

Paige Shifflett provided both Griffon runs, which were enough for Shyanne Saladino to pick up her fourth shutout of the season.

Shifflett picked up an RBI single to right in the fifth and a solo home run to center in the seventh, her second of the season. Shifflett finished 2-4 at the plate and Morgan Rathmann was also 2-4. Missouri Western had six total hits. Saladino limited Central Missouri to five hits while striking out six and walking three.

Missouri Western stays on the road this weekend with a doubleheader at Southwest Baptist on Saturday, beginning at 11 a.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Missouri Western baseball team beat Pittsburg State 7-6 on Thursday afternoon. The Griffons stunned Pitt State in the first game of the series with a seven-run inning in the bottom of the eighth to pull out the victory.

Missouri Western’s late rally came in the bottom of the eighth inning when Nick Gawley started the inning off with a single to third base. Jeremy Alvarado reached on a fielder’s choice and error by the first basemen. Brandon Downs continued the rally as he singled to center field, loading the bases for Alex Heuring. Heuring was able to reach on the second error of the inning to score Gawley from third.

The Griffons then drew consecutive walks to push the score to 6-3 in favor of the Gorillas. Senior David Glaude came to the plate with the bases loaded and delivered a double to left center to bring home three-runs and even the score at 6-6. Glaude was eventually moved to third and scored on a wild pitch, giving the Griffons a 7-6 lead.

Missouri Western allowed the Gorillas to gain an early lead giving up five runs in the first three innings. Weston Caindec was able to shut down the PSU offense. Caindec pitched 4.1 innings as he came in for relief in the third inning. He allowed just two hits and stuck out seven batters on the day. Preston Bailey came in to finish the game, picking up his second win of the year and striking out three batters.

The Griffons finished the day with seven different players scoring a run and seven different players getting a hit. Glaude, Gawley and Alvarado all contributed two-hits each in the game.

The Griffons and Gorillas will have a double-header on Friday afternoon starting at 2 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western softball pitcher Janie Smith has been awarded for an outstanding weekend. The senior was named the MIAA/AstroTurf Pitcher of the Week.

Smith figured into three of the Griffons’ four wins over the weekend, pitching 19 innings in doubleheader sweeps of Northeastern State and Central Oklahoma. On Friday, the senior pitched 10 shutout innings as Missouri Western defeated Northeastern State 1-0. Smith went 2-0 on the weekend and earned a save, allowing 16 hits and two earned runs for a 0.95 ERA. She struck out 11 batters, walked six and allowed 16 hits in those 19 innings of work.

The Griffons are 14-6 overall and 4-0 in MIAA play, sitting atop the MIAA standings after the first week of conference play. Missouri Western travels to Central Missouri this Friday and Southwest Baptist on Saturday.

— MWSU Athletics —

DANVILLE, Ark. – The Missouri Western men’s golf team finished its first competition of the spring season with a score of 614 and finished tied for 17th place as a unit. The event was held at the Chamberlyne Country Club.

The Griffons were led by Jakob Rudosky through the two rounds of play. He finished with a 146 and placed tied for 19th. Senior Ryan Hand scored a 74 and 77 respectively in his two rounds which landed him tied for 44th.

As a team, the Griffons tied with Southern Arkansas and were two strokes behind Oklahoma Baptist for 16th place. Rockhurst finished with a 606 in 15th place and Harding finished with a 601 in 14th place. Arkansas Tech was the top team in the tournament, scoring a 571. The second place team was SE Oklahoma State with a 579 score.

Missouri Southern State’s Taylor Lansford was the individual winner of the event, firing a 138. Austin Smith from Arkansas Tech finished second with a 140 in the two rounds of play.

The Griffons are back in action on March 20 – March 22 at the Broncho Invitational.

— MWSU Athletics —

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Missouri Western baseball team dominated offensively at Drury University, scoring 29 runs and recording 33 hits in the doubleheader sweep. The Griffons took game one 15-4 and the second game of the evening 14-3.

Game 1

The Griffons controlled the game from the start, scoring the first 14 runs of the game. Missouri Western finished the game with 15 runs and tied a season-high with 17 hits. MWSU managed to score at least one run in six of the seven innings. Drury managed to collect four runs on six hits throughout the game.

Offensively, Missouri Western managed to score two runs in the first inning when Jeremy Alvarado and Kody Matthews each picked up RBIs. The Griffons continued to add to their lead as Cosmino Cannella had a two-run home run to left field in the fourth inning. The Griffons added two more runs in the top of the fourth inning, expanding the Griffon lead to 10-0.

Senior Orencio Fisher tallied his second home run of the season in the fifth inning. Alvardo eventually followed up with a double to left field, bringing home Nick Gawley and David Glaude to make the score 13-0 heading into the sixth inning.

The final run of the game for the Griffons came from Marcus Brown as he blasted a home run to left field.

Missouri Western had four pitchers enter the game. Evan Jones is now 2-0 on the season, allowing just one hit in three innings of work. Weston Caindec and Chris Estrada combined for two innings, allowing one hit and one run and tallying two strikeouts.

Game 2

Missouri Western picked up right where they left off after game one, producing 14 runs on 16 hits in the second game. The Griffons recorded runs in six of seven innings again including three innings scoring at least three runs.

Missouri Western started off scoring on a sac fly by Nick Gawley, scoring David Glaude. Drury responded in the bottom half of the first inning with an RBI single to right field by Conner Wilson. The Griffons added a pair of runs in the second inning and never looked back.

The Griffons tallied four runs in the top of the fourth inning with an RBI single by Alvarado and a single by Andrew Ramirez, bringing home two more runs. In the fifth inning, Cannella and Gawley had back-to-back home runs. MWSU added three more runs in the top of the seventh inning to end the game.

Jared Lloyd recorded his second victory of the season, allowing just two earned runs on four hits. Zach Cross, Mike Calimeno, and Conner Schwienebart combined to allow just one run in four innings of work. They also had six strikeouts combined.

The Griffons will return home this weekend as they take on Pittsburg State starting on Friday at 2 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – For the first time since 2007, the Missouri Western women’s basketball team will compete in the NCAA Championships.

The team received the No. 3 seed in the central regional that will be hosted by No. 2 seed Pittsburg State. Missouri Western (27-3) will play Arkansas Tech (26-3) in the first round of the tournament on March 11 at 8:30 p.m.. Emporia State earned the No. 1 seed in the region, but will not host due to scheduling issues. Winona State is the No. 4 seed in the region, Fort Hays State the five, Sioux Falls the seven and Northern State earned the No. 8 seed.

Tickets will go on sale Monday morning at the Pittsburg State Ticket Office or by calling (620) 235-4796. Tickets are $30 for an all-sessions pass, $10 for an adult single-session ticket and $3 for a student single-session ticket.

This is the program’s 12th regional appearance. The Griffons are 7-9 all-time in regional games with two regional championships (1994 and 95). This will be the first time Missouri Western has faced Arkansas Tech in NCAA Championship play. The only central regional participant Missouri Western has ever faced in the NCAA Championships is Emporia State. The Griffons lost both meetings, one in 2000 and the last in 2003.

No. 1 Emporia State vs. No. 8 Northern State
No. 2 Pittsburg State vs. No. 7 Sioux Falls
No. 3 Missouri Western vs. No. 6 Arkansas Tech
No. 4 Winona State vs. No. 5 Fort Hays State

— MWSU Athletics —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The tone was set early and it didn’t change. The top-seeded Missouri Western women’s basketball team struggled through foul trouble from start to finish, falling 85-74 to fourth seeded Emporia State in the MIAA Tournament semifinals.

Three Griffons fouled out of the game and Missouri Western ended with 34 personal fouls to Emporia State’s 17. The Griffons were awarded 16 free throw attempts to Emporia State’s 41. Missouri Western made 28 field goal attempts and Emporia State, 25. The Lady Hornets made one three-point field goal, Missouri Western made five. Emporia State did out-rebound the Griffons 33-21, but the difference was clearly at the free throw line.

Miliakere Koyamainavure led Missouri Western with 19 points and four rebounds. Sarafina Handy finished with 16 points and LaQuinta Jefferson had 12. The loss dropped Missouri Western to 27-3 on the season. The team will now await its postseason fate. That announcement will be made Sunday night at 9 when the NCAA Regional brackets are released.

— MWSU Athletics —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Western men’s basketball season ended Friday with an 82-70 loss in the MIAA Tournament quarterfinals to Missouri Southern.

The final score didn’t tell the whole story of a game that Missouri Western trailed by just one point with 8:35 to go. Missouri Southern outscored Missouri Western 20-10 in the next 10 minutes to build an 11-point lead. The Griffons went to halftime down one and built a four-point lead with 11:51 to go in the game, but Missouri Southern recaptured the lead with 10:56 to go and never trailed the game that included 13 lead changes and six ties.

Missouri Western’s run as the lowest seed to ever win an MIAA Tournament game (11) ended with a 12-18 overall record and a 9-13 mark in the MIAA. The Griffons shot 47 percent from the field and 33 percent from behind the arc. Aaron Emmanuel led Western, matching a career-high with 23 points. Miles Wentzien added 12 points with a team-high seven rebounds and Cole Clearman had 11 before fouling out. Taevaunn Prince led all scorers with 31 points and eight rebounds.

— MWSU Athletics —