ST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western senior shortstop Cody Childs has been named first team Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-District.

Earlier Thursday, Childs was was one of nine members of the Griffon Baseball team to earn All-MIAA honors.

Childs, a senior from Troutdale, Oregon, is majoring in Elementary Education. This season he hit .331 with 17 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 42 RBIs.

The 2014-15 Capital One Academic All-District Baseball and Softball teams are selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America to recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. To be eligiable for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a starter or key reserve with a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher, be at least a sophomore and be nominated by the school’s sports information director.

Childs played in 48 games this season, 47 of them starts and has a 3.82 GPA at the time of his nomination. As a first team academic all-district selection, Childs is now eligible for Capital One Academic All-America distinction.

— MWSU Sports Information —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The All-MIAA Baseball team has been released, and nine Missouri Western Griffons find themselves among those honored.

Six MWSU position players and three pitchers made the All-MIAA team, with two second team selections, two third team picks and five on the honorable mentions. The entire Griffon outfield received All-MIAA distinction in some form and all but two infield positions were represented.

Banks Born – Second Team, Pitcher
The senior from Lee’s Summit, Missouri finished the 2015 season and his Griffon career with just one loss. This season, Born went 6-1, leading the team in wins. His 3.80 ERA was lowest among Griffon starters. Born pitched 68.2 innings over 14 appearances, 12 starts, and struck out 31 batters. Born leaves MWSU with a career, 13-1 record and 4.76 ERA, with 45 appearances and 20 starts.

Ryan Degner – Second Team, Outfield
Degner wrapped up his senior season batting .361 with 16 doubles, 12 home runs and 43 RBIs. It’s the second time Degner has been a second team All-MIAA performer, also earning first team All-Region and third team All-American honors in 2014. The Hillsboro, Oregon native batted .372 in his two-year career at MWSU with 32 doubles, 22 home runs and 92 RBIs.

Richard Peoples – Third Team, Relief Pitcher
Peoples makes his first All-MIAA team in his first season with the Griffons. The Crowder College transfer went 5-3 with six saves in 18 appearances. Peoples pitched 34.2 innings with a 1.82 ERA and 28 strikeouts. He was one of two Griffon pitchers to earn MIAA Pitcher of the Week this season.

Cody Childs – Third Team, Shortstop
An honorable mention selection in 2014, Childs leaves MWSU as a two-time All-MIAA pick. This season, the Troutdale, Oregon native, batted .331 with 17 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 42 RBIs. The senior shortstop recorded a .951 fielding percentage, committing 12 errors in 243 chances. Childs was charged with just six errors over a 43-game stretch.

A.J. Martinez – Honorable Mention, Pitcher
In his first season at MWSU after transferring from Monroe Junior College, the Egg Harbor, New Jersey native pitched 58 innings over 16 appearances, nine of them starts. He went 4-2 with a 4.19 ERA and one complete game. Pepoles struck out 44 batters, including a season-high seven versus Nebraska-Kearney on April 11.

Cosimo Cannella – Honorable Mention, First Base
Another newcomer to the Griffon lineup, Cannella earns All-MIAA honors after transferring from Des Moines Area Community College. The Schaumburg, Illinois native batted .337 with 12 doubles, seven home runs and 41 RBIs this season.

David Glaude – Honorable Mention, Third Base
One of five Griffon juniors to make the All-MIAA team this season, Glaude hit .345 with 14 doubles, 12 home runs and 44 RBIs. The Quebec City, Canada native had two, two home run games this season. The first coming at Fort Hays on April, 3 and the second at Southwest Baptist on April, 16.

Trevor LaHonta – Honorable Mention, Outfield
The senior outfielder becomes an All-MIAA selection for the first time. This season, the Walnut Creek, California native, batted .322 with seven doubles, three home runs and 25 RBIs. LaHonta started 50 games this season and 52 in 2014 and was a .324 career hitter for the Griffons over two seasons.

Orencio Fisher – Honorable Mention, Utility
After locking down an everyday spot in the Griffon lineup, the junior hit .359 and stole 21 bases in 24 attempts. The Maple Woods Community College transfer had two four-hit games this season and drove in 22 runs while scoring 37.

MWSU finished the 2015 season with a 29-21 overall record, finishing fourth in the MIAA with a 22-14 mark in conference play.

— MWSU Sports Information —

LEMONT, Ill. – Missouri Western junior Corey Knight completed his second round of the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Midwest/Central Regional with a 76 and currently sits tied for 13th place. He is currently three-over for the tournament.

Knight has an accumulative score of 147 through his first two rounds after scoring a 71 on day one. Knight tallied 13 pars in his second round. The junior also recorded a hole-in-one during his second round. His hole-in-one came on the 14th tee box at 171 yards.

Travis Mays of Central Oklahoma and Zach James of Southeast Oklahoma St. are currently tied at the top of the leader board with a 142 through two rounds of golf. Central Missouri leads the team standings with a 586 overall score. SE Oklahoma sits alone in second while Central Oklahoma and Missouri-St. Louis are currently tied for third at 593.

The regional is being played on course No. 4 – “Dubsdread”, and will play host to 108 golfers and 20 teams, including eight individuals. The regional format consists of 54 holes played over three days.

The low five teams and low five individuals not on those teams will advance to the NCAA DII National Championship May 18-20 in Conover, N.C., at Rock Barn Golf & Spa.
The final round of the Central Regional will start at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Missouri Western freshman Celine Lim finished her final round of the Women’s Central Super Regional on Tuesday afternoon, tallying an 86.

Lim fired a total of 257 through the three day event, finishing tied for 38 out of 49 competitors. She finished her final round with seven pars and one birdies. Lim also managed six bogies and had three double bogies in her round.

In rounds one and two, Lim recorded scores of 86 and 85 respectively. She finished the regional with 21 pars and two birdies through the three rounds of golf.

Sierra Langlie of Augustana College (SD) took first place individually, scoring a 227 in her three rounds of golf. Central Oklahoma freshman Marla Souvannasing was second with a 229.

Augustana College (SD) won the team title as well, finishing with a score of 946. Arkansas Tech finished second and Central Oklahoma finished third for the tournament.

Each super-regional consists of both team and individual competition conducted along with nine teams and four individuals from non-qualifying teams at each site. All participants will compete throughout the 54 holes of competition. The top three teams along with the top three individuals not with a team from each super-regional will advance to the championships.

The 2015 NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships will be held May 13-16 at The Meadows Golf Course in Allendale, Michigan.

Lim finished her freshman campaign as the Griffons top golfer. She fired a low-round of 75 with one top-five finish, six top-10 finishes and six top-20 finishes. Her best finish came early this spring when she tied for fifth at the MWSU/Holiday Inn Express Classic at the St. Joseph Country Club.

— MWSU Sports Information —

LEMONT, Ill. – Missouri Western junior Corey Knight had a strong first round at the Men’s Midwest/Central Golf Regional, scoring a 71 at the Cog Hill Golf & Country Club. The course is currently a par 72 and is 6,869 yards.

Knight is the only Griffon golfer competing in the event. Knight currently sits tied for ninth at the end of the first round at 1-under. He tallied 11 pars after the first round and also added four birdies on Monday.

Central Missouri’s Travis Mays and Bellarmine’s DJ Vogt are tied at the top of the leaderboard, scoring a 67 after their first round of golf. SE Oklahoma St. leads all teams with a score of 288 overall. Central Missouri is second with a 291 and Southwestern Ok. St. is third at 292.

The 2015 NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Midwest/Central Regional is being played on course No. 4 – “Dubsdread”, and will play host to 108 golfers and 20 teams, including eight individuals. The regional format consists of 54 holes played over three days.

The low five teams and low five individuals not on those teams will advance to the NCAA DII National Championship May 18-20 in Conover, N.C., at Rock Barn Golf & Spa.

The second and third round will be played Tuesday and Wednesday, each starting at 7:30 a.m.

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Missouri Western freshman Celine Lim finished her second round of the NCAA Division II Women’s Super-Regional with a score of 85. Through her first two rounds of golf she has a total of 171, placing her tied for 37th overall.

Lim completed her second round with six pars on the day. She also recorded 11 bogies and one double bogey in her round of the golf at the Hillcrest Country Club. Lim’s 27-over and currently sits 37th of the 49 participants.

Marla Souvanasing of Central Oklahoma and Sierra Langlie of Augustana College (SD) lead the pack with a score of 151 overall. Augustana College (SD) currently has a team score of 630 to lead all teams. Central Oklahoma trails by seven strokes and Northeastern St. is in third with a score of 639.

Each super-regional consists of both team and individual competition conducted along with nine teams and four individuals from non-qualifying teams at each site. All participants will compete throughout the 54 holes of competition. The top three teams along with the top three individuals not with a team from each super-regional will advance to the championships.

The 2015 NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships will be held May 13-16 at The Meadows Golf Course in Allendale, Michigan.

The final round of golf will begin at 8:30 a.m. at Bartlesville, Okla. on the Hillcrest Country Club.

— MWSU Sports Information —

ST. JOSEPH – For the eighth time since 2005, the Missouri Western softball team will compete in the NCAA Division II Regional tournament. Missouri Western was selected as the seven seed Monday morning and will travel to Warrensburg, Missouri for regional play this weekend.

MWSU opens play Friday at 2 p.m. against host school Central Missouri. It will be the third matchup between the two teams this season. Central Missouri has won all three games, including an elimination game this past Friday in the MIAA tournament. The winner of Friday’s game will play the winner of the No. 3 Henderson State versus No. 6 Arkansas Tech game on Saturday at 1 p.m. The teams that lose their Friday games will play each other on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Augustana is the top seed in the Central Region and will host No. 4 Central Oklahoma, No .5 Winona State and No. 8 East Central University this weekend. The winners of the two regional brackets will advance to the super regional to be played May 15-16 at a location to be determined.

Missouri Western enters regional play with a 36-19 record after a fourth place finish in the MIAA. The Griffons went 3-2 in the MIAA tournament with losses to Northwest Missouri State and Central Missouri. MWSU eliminated Fort Hays State, Emporia State and Northwest Missouri State and were one win away from advancing to the championship series for the second straight year.

The Griffons are very familiar with the other teams in the regional field. Overall, MWSU was 4-6 against teams that made the regional tournament. The Griffons went 2-0 against top-seeded Augustana with a split against third seeded Henderson State. MWSU defeated Winona State in the Apple Market Classic and was swept in MIAA doubleheaders against Central Oklahoma and Central Missouri. The Griffons also lost to Central Missouri in the MIAA tournament.

Missouri Western’s game with Central Missouri will be broadcast on ESPN 1550 AM and here on StJosephPost.com.

— MWSU Sports Information —

ST. JOSEPH – The public is invited to join members of the Missouri Western State University community as they break ground on the Spratt Stadium renovation project in a ceremony to be held at the stadium.

The ceremony will be held Wednesday at 10 a.m. on the playing surface in the corner closest to the Baker Family Fitness Center on the home grandstand side of the field. In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved to the Spratt Stadium concourse.

Last week, the Missouri Western State University Board of Governors awarded the nearly $7 million renovation contract to E.L. Crawford Construction of St. Joseph. Construction is expected to begin after the ceremony Wednesday with all construction completed by the spring of 2016.

Plans call for the demolition of the current press box structure and track around the playing surface. The field will be moved closer to the home grandstand area with new turf. A new press box structure will be constructed, featuring a new concourse, concessions area, restrooms, club level, suite level and press box level. A video board is included in future plans but was not included in the current bid process.

The ceremony will be broadcast live on ESPN 1550 Am or here at StJosephPost.com.  No RSVP is required for Wednesday’s ceremony.

— MWSU Sports Information —

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Missouri Western baseball team had its season end on Friday night as Washburn defeated MWSU, 9-1. The Ichabods won the first two games of the best-of-three series to sweep the Griffons in the first round MIAA Tournament series.

Western allowed 15 hits and committed five errors defensively to help the Ichabods.

The Ichabods jumped on the board in the first inning as Parker Gibson opened the game with a single to right field. He was advanced on a sac bunt and eventually brought home by Kyle Carnahan when he singled to left field. The second run of the inning came on a failed pick off attempt when Cody Childs lost the ball, allowing Carnahan to score from third.

In the bottom of the second inning, Cosimo Cannella recorded his fifth home run on the season when he blasted a ball down the left field line.

A nightmare of a fourth inning allowed the Ichabods to score five runs on six hits. The Griffons committed three errors in the inning with nine batters coming to the plate for the Ichabods.

The Griffons used six different pitchers throughout the game and record their first, one, two, three inning in the eighth.

Starting pitcher Mike Heffernan was outstanding for the Ichabods, allowing just one run on just two hits. He recorded 37 pitches through the first five innings and ending the game with just 75 total pitches. Heffernan picked up his fourth win of the season.

The Griffons end the season with a record of 29-21 overall and will have to fill the void of nine seniors for the 2016 season.

— MWSU Sports Information —

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – The Missouri Western softball team had its MIAA Tournament Championship defense stopped Friday night by top seeded Central Missouri. The Griffons fell 3-1 to the MIAA regular season champions as they came up one game shy of playing for the title again.

MWSU finished 3-2 at the MIAA tournament as they are now 36-19 on the season.

Missouri Western fell behind 2-0 and had a good chance to tie in the fourth but had the threat halted when Tiffany Gillaspy was caught in a run-down between third base and home. Morgan Rathmann led off the inning with a single and then stole second with Sydney Washington batting. Washington flew out then Tiffany Gillaspy singled and advanced to second, putting two runners in scoring position with one out. Paige Shifflett put the Griffons on the board with an RBI single to center that put Gillaspy on third and Shifflett advanced to second on the throw. After Kailey Green popped up to the shortstop Gillaspy was thrown out in a run-down with Klosterman batting. A wild pitch went off the home plate umpire’s foot and bounced right back to the catcher, freezing Gillaspy between third and home.

Central Missouri added another run in the bottom half of the fourth. The Griffons got the first two batters on in the fifth with Brooke Schaben leading off with a single but she was out on a force play with Rathmann reaching on a fielder’s choice. Rathmann stole second with Washington batting again and Washington line out to center to record the second out. Gillaspy was then hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with two out. Shifflett hit into a fielder’s choice and Washington was forced out to end the inning.

Janie Smith went the distance again, pitching all but two innings of the Griffons’ four games in the tournament, 33 innings in all. She fell to 18-11 with the loss, giving up three runs on eight hits. Her offense gave her just four hits, one each coming from Rathmann, Gillaspy, Shifflett and Schaben.

The team will now await its postseason fate when NCAA Regional selections are announced on May 4. The Griffons came into the weekend ranked sixth in the region, with the top-eight advancing on to the regional tournament.

— MWSU Sports Information —

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Missouri Western baseball team opened up the first round of the MIAA tournament against Washburn on Thursday night but fell in 10 innings 6-5.  The Ichabods lead the best-of-three series 1-0.

Washburn started their scoring off with two runs in the top of the third inning as Tanner Johnson walked to start the inning. He was driven in by Parker Gibson to score the first run of the game with a hit to centerfield. Riley Krane brought Gibson in on a single through the right side.

Missouri Western was able to tie the game up with one swing of the bat from Ryan Degner as he hit a two-run home run to right field.

The Ichabods earned their third run of the game as Corey Gragg picked up an RBI single to score Tanner Triggs

Missouri Western put together a three-run inning in the bottom of the fourth. Dylon Koch was the first to reach on an error by the second baseman. Seniors Trevor LaHonta, Ryan Degner, and Cody Childs all picked up RBIs in the inning.

Washburn evened up the score with one run coming in the fifth and seventh inning each. Krane opened up the seventh inning with a triple and eventually scored on a Kyle Carnahan single to the left side.

Pinch hitter Matt Sutliffe tallied his first hit of the season, scoring Wes Jones in the top of the 10th inning with a blop single to left field. The Griffons put two on in the bottom of the 10th but couldn’t find a way to get a run home.

Ryan Degner went 4-for-6 on the day including three RBIs and scoring two runs. Left fielder Orencio Fisher had three hits and five other Griffons recorded one hit.

The Griffons and Ichabods will face off in an elimination game starting at 6 p.m. on Friday night.

— MWSU Sports Information —