ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western baseball team bounced back on Saturday with a doubleheader sweep of the second place team in the MIAA, Nebraska-Kearney. MWSU completed the sweep with a walk-off win in game two. The Griffons are now 22-17 and 15-12 in the MIAA going into the final game of the series Sunday at 1 p.m.

GAME 1: MWSU 6, Nebraska-Kearney 2

The bottom third of the Griffon order did the bulk of the damage and Banks Born gave the MWSU bullpen seven more innings of rest as the Griffons evened the series at one game each.

The Griffons used five straight, two-out hits to score five in the bottom of the second. The five run rally was capped by Ryan Degner’s three-run home run. Cody Childs got the rally started with a single, then Dylon Koch, Michael Yeager and Trevor LaHonta followed with singles that put MWSU up 2-0 with two on and two outs. That’s when Degner blasted his three-run shot down the left field line.

Born went all seven, improving to 4-1 on the year. He allowed seven hits and held Nebraska-Kearney to two runs. Koch went 3-3 and LaHonta was 2-3. Degner finished with three RBIs on his one hit.

GAME 2: MWSU 5, Nebraska-Kearney 4 (8 Innings)

Ryan Degner’s single with two out in the bottom of the eighth ended the game and finished the doubleheader sweep.

With runners on first and third Degner roped a 1-0 pitch into right field, scoring Michael Yeager and winning the game. After the first two Griffons of the inning were retired, Yeager singled to center. Trevor LaHonta followed with a single to right that moved Yeager to third before Degner’s single ended it.

MWSU had a 4-1 lead going into the sixth but Nebraska-Kearney tied it with three in the inning and chased starter A.J. Martinez from the game. Kyle Kelly pitched one inning in relief and Richard Peoples pitched the final inning and a third, picking up the win in his first action since straining his oblique in March.

Yeager finished 3-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Cosimo Cannella was 2-4 with one RBI and a run scored. Martinez went the first five and two-thirds innings, giving up four runs on seven hits, while striking out seven.

— Northwest Sports Information —

PITTSBURG, Kan. – The 24th-ranked Missouri Western softball team picked up two more road wins Saturday with a doubleheader sweep of MIAA-leading Pittsburg State.

GAME 1: #24 MWSU 1, Pittsburg State 0

Janie Smith’s three-hit shutout and Tiffany Gillaspy’s 13th home run of the year were all Griffon Softball needed to take game one, 1-0.

Gillaspy’s solo home run cleared the right field wall and gave Smith all the cushion she needed to knock off the league leaders. The junior moved to 15-7 on the season allowing just three hits in seven innings of work. She struck out six and walked one. Smith was aided by her defense that did not commit an error. The Griffons’ five hits were spread between Morgan Rathmann, Gillaspy, Katie Klosterman, Shelbie Atwell and Rebekah Mueller.

GAME 2: #24 MWSU 7, Pittsburg State 5

Missouri Western won a home run battle in game two to get out of Pittsburg with a sweep. The Griffons hit three long balls and so did Pittsburg State. It was two runs that weren’t scored on home runs that made the difference in the game.

Shelbie Atwell drew a bases loaded, two out walk in the first to put MWSU up 1-0 and Paige Shifflett drove in one with a single in the second. Other than that, the team’s runs came via solo home runs from Brooke Shcaben and Katie Klosterman and a a three-run shot by Gillaspy.

Janie Smith picked up her second win of the day, pitching the final five innings in relief of Shyanne Saladino. Smith only allowed three hits and struck out three, while not surrendering a run.

The Griffons sit at 32-14 overall and 16-6 in the MIAA after going 4-0 in four road games this weekend. They are off for a week before hosting Washburn and Emporia State to end the regular season on April 24 and 25.

— MWSU Sports Information —

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Missouri Western women’s tennis team split a pair of conference matches on Saturday, beating Lincoln 9-0 and falling to #19 Southwest Baptist, 4-5. Prior to the match against Southwest Baptist, MWSU honored seniors Ceara Boldridge and Kayla Dysart.

Lincoln Match

Missouri Western earned a 9-0 victory over the Lincoln Tigers on Saturday morning. The Griffons won six matches against opponents as Lincoln traveled with four players.

In doubles matches, Kayla Dysart and Sofia Aguilera beat their opponent 8-1 in the No. 1 spot. Denise Chiao and Lindsay Beger dominated in the No. 2 position with an 8-1 win as well.

The Griffons also won all four matches in singles as Sarah Giraldo claimed a 7-5, 6-4 (10-3) win against Maeva Lasfargue. Both Chiao and Aguilera tallied 6-0, 6-0 victories to help the Griffons seal the win.

Singles competition
1. Giraldo,Sarah (MWSU) def. Lasfargue,Maeva (LU) 7-5, 6-4, 10-3
2. Aguilera,Sofia (MWSU) def. Gober,Abigail (LU) 6-0, 6-0
3. Smith,Meara (MWSU) def. Roling,Ashley (LU) 7-6 (8-6), 6-1
4. Chiao,Denise (MWSU) def. Geldner,Yvonne (LU) 6-0, 6-0
5. Dysart,Kayla (MWSU) def. No player (LU), by default
6. Boldridge,Ceara (MWSU) def. No player (LU), by default

Doubles competition
1. Aguilera,Sofia/Dysart,Kayla (MWSU) def. Roling,Ashley/Gober,Abigail (LU) 8-1
2. Beger,Lindsay/Chiao,Denise (MWSU) def. Lasfargue,Maeva/Geldner,Yvonne (LU) 8-1
3. Smith,Meara/Boldridge,Ceara (MWSU) def. No player/No player (LU), by default

Southwest Baptist Match

The Griffons gave #19 Southwest Baptist everything they wanted on Saturday afternoon in a closely contested match ending with a 5-4 loss.

MWSU fell in two doubles matches as Giraldo and El Ghazi lost 8-5 in the No. 1 spot. The Griffons lost in the No. 2 doubles match as well 9-8 (7-4).

The Griffons fell behind in singles matches, losing in the No. 1 and No. 2 positon but rallied back in the No. 3 and No. 4 spots. Kayla Dysart won her No. 3 singles match 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 and Yasmine El Ghazi beat Beatrix Federer 7-5, 6-3.

The final match of the night came down to senior; Ceara Boldridge and Zorana Jovanovic in the No. 5 spot. Boldridge earned a 6-0 victory in set one but Jovanovic battled back to claim 6-1, 6-4 wins in set two and three.

Singles competition
1. Varga,Fanni (SBU) def. Giraldo,Sarah (MWSU) 6-0, 6-1
2. Zehnder,Maria Josie (SBU) def. Aguilera,Sofia (MWSU) 6-1, 6-1
3. Dysart,Kayla (MWSU) def. Tuemmers,Lani (SBU) 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1
4. El Ghazi,Yasmine (MWSU) def. Federer,Beatrix (SBU) 7-5, 6-3
5. Jovanovic,Zorana (SBU) def. Boldridge,Ceara (MWSU) 0-6, 6-1, 6-4
6. Smith,Meara (MWSU) def. No player (SBU), by default

Doubles competition
1. Tuemmers,Lani/Zehnder,Maria Josie (SBU) def. Giraldo,Sarah/El Ghazi,Yasmine (MWSU) 8-5
2. Jovanovic,Zorana/Varga,Fanni (SBU) def. Dysart,Kayla/Aguilera,Sofia (MWSU) 9-8 (7-4)
3. No player/No player (MWSU) def. No player/No player (SBU), by default

The Griffons will head to Tahlequah, Oklahoma on Saturday for a match against Southern Nazerene and Northeastern State starting at 10:00 am.

— MWSU Sports Information —

ST. JOSEPH – An eight-run second inning by Nebraska-Kearney vaulted the Lopers to an 11-4 win over the Missouri Western baseball team Saturday evening at the Griffon Spring Sports Complex.

Without the big eighth from Nebraska-Kearney, Grant Woods held the Lopers to three runs, one in the seventh and two in the top of the ninth. Woods threw more than 150 pitches, going all nine innings and allowing the 11 runs on 13 hits, nine of the runs were earned.

UNK hit five home runs off Woods, including four in the second inning. The team may have had one more were it not for an outstanding catch in left field by Orencio Fisher, leaping up and reaching his glove over the top of the fence.

Missouri Western had four runs on six hits. No Griffon player had more than one. David Glaude was 1-3 with two RBIs. Trevor LaHonta and Ryan Degner had the other RBIs.

The loss dropped MWSU to 20-17 on the season and 13-12 in the MIAA. Nebraska-Kearney improved to 23-12 and 18-7. The two teams will play a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. and the games will be broadcast on 680 KFEQ and here on StJosephPost.com.

— MWSU Sports Information —

JOPLIN, Mo. – The Missouri Western Softball picked up its 30th win of the season and got back to its winning ways in a sweep of Missouri Southern on Friday.

GAME 1: #24 MWSU 5, Missouri Southern 4

The Griffons snuck one across in the top of the seventh to take game one by a run. Missouri Southern jumped out to a three-run lead after scoring a trio in the first inning. MWSU took a 4-3 lead after two in the fourth and two in the fifth but allowed the Lions to tied it up in the bottom of the fifth.

With one out in the inning, Tiffany Gillaspy picked up her first hit of the game, doubling to left center in the seventh. Katie Klosterman followed with a single that put Gillaspy on third. A wild pitch with Paige Shifflett batting brought Gillaspy home for what proved to be the winning run.

Klosterman finished 2-3 with two runs scored. Kailey Green went 2-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Rebekah Mueller went 3-3 at the plate, driving in one run. Janie Smith picked up the win, going all seven innings. She allowed 10 hits and four runs with four strikeouts.

GAME 2: #24 MWSU 1, Missouri Southern 0

After scoring the winning run in game one, Tiffany Gillaspy drove in the only run the Griffons needed in game two.

Gillaspy broke a scoreless tie with one down in the top of the seventh with a sacrifice fly that brought Brooke Schaben home. Schaben doubled two batters earlier and advanced to third on Morgan Rathmann’s single. MWSU totaled just seven hits in the game off Ashley Lutz and Kailey Green had three of them. Green went 3-3 at the plate in game two. Schaben was 2-3.

Shyanne Saladino improved her record to 16-6, allowing just three hits in seven scoreless innings. The wins moved MWSU to 30-14 on the year and 14-6 in the MIAA. The Griffons travel across the border for a doubleheader Saturday against MIAA-leading Pittsburg State.

— MWSU Sports Information —

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Missouri Western softball player Paige Shifflett has been selected as one of 25 finalists for the NFCA National Freshman of the Year award.

Shifflett’s impressive freshman season has her second on the team in batting average (.388). The designated player from Pleasant Hill, Missouri leads the team with a .460 on base percentage.

Starting all but one game this season, Shifflett is currently has a 16-game hitting streak and has totaled 47 hits this season. Her 38 RBIs are second on the team and her eight home runs are third.

With an impressive ability to change her approach, Shifflett is second on the team with 12 walks this year. As a freshman, Shifflett leads the team with a .458 batting average when runners are on base. She has a team-high, .500, batting average with runners in scoring position and is batting .727 average with a runner on third and less than two outs.

No Griffon has had more success advancing runners on the season. Shifflett has moved at least one runner over 48 times in 75 chances for a .640 success rate.

Shifflett is one of three MIAA freshman to make the top-25, joining Pittsburg State’s Emmie Robertson and Emporia State’s Caitlin VanVleck.

— MWSU Sports Information —

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Missouri Western senior Tiffany Gillaspy has been selected as one of 25 finalists for the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II National Softball Player of the Year. Earlier this year, Gillaspy was placed on a top-50 watch list for the award and her exceptional senior season to this point has moved her one step closer to that recognition.

Already the national and MIAA Hitter of the Week once this season, Gillaspy leads her team in batting average (.401), slugging percentage (.759), hits (55), RBIs (40), doubles (11), home runs (12) and total bases (104). She came into this week as the MIAA leader in slugging percentage and tied for the lead in home runs. She is also in the top-10 in the country in home runs. The senior infielder currently ranks in the top-five in the following MWSU career standings: runs scored (4th-127), RBIs (4th-149), doubles (5th-139), home runs (3rd-35), total bases (4th-347) and batting average (5th-.366).

In 2014, Gillaspy was third team Daktronics All-American; First Team Daktronics All-Region; NFCA First Team All-Central Region and First Team All-MIAA. She was named MIAA Hitter of the Week twice, hitting safely in 23 of her last 25 games and 45 of the team’s 57 games.

— MWSU Sports Information —

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – For the third consecutive week, the Missouri Western softball team finds itself in the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association Poll. After going 3-3 in six road games last week, the team dropped from No. 14 to No. 24 this week.

MWSU dropped a pair on Tuesday to Central Missouri after the voting was completed. It was the second sweep of a ranked team by UCM in a week after they took two from then No. 9 Emporia State over the weekend.

Emporia State remains the only other MIAA school ranked, now at No. 15. Looking around the rest of the top-25, MWSU has two victories this season over No. 12 Augustana and one win over No. 22 Winona State.

Missouri Western is currenty 28-14 overall and 12-6 in the MIAA.

— MWSU Sports Information —

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Missouri Western baseball team went 1-1 Tuesday at the Griffon Springs Sports Complex against Truman State.  The Griffons lost game one 4-3, but rolled to a 14-1 win in the nightcap.

Game 1 – TSU 4, MWSU 3

MWSU allowed four runs to Truman State in the first inning and their comeback bid fell short only tallying three runs in the seven inning game.

Truman State jumped on the Griffons early with four runs in the first inning. Missouri Western used three pitchers in the inning to get out of the jam with three runs being charged to Mike Calimeno. MWSU walked two batters, hit a batter and committed an error to contribute to the four-run inning.

The Griffons clawed their way back in the fifth inning when Corbin Duffy started off the inning with a solo home run. Dylon Koch and Orencio Fisher followed that up with back-to-back singles and senior Trevor LaHonta hit a single into right centerfield to bring in the second run of the inning.

Missouri Western had guys on second and third with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning but couldn’t find a way to drive them in to even the score.

On the mound, Kyle Kelly pitched 5.1 innings; faced 17 batters only gave up two hits and walked one batter with no runs allowed.

Game 2 – MWSU 14, TSU 1

The Griffons produced 14 runs in the second game powered behind three four-run innings and allowed just one run on six hits.

Shortstop Cody Childs got the Griffons on the board with a grand slam in the bottom of the third inning. He drove in Ryan Degner, Trevor LaHonta, and Orencio Fisher in one swing of the bat.

MWSU continued hitting in the bottom of the fourth inning with Fisher tallying an RBI single through the left side and the second run scored when Ryan Degner reached on an error to allow Koch to score.

In the fifth inning, designated hitter Corbin Duffy hit a two-run home run for his second on the day.  The Griffons also added four more runs in the bottom of the sixth.

Missouri Western will be back in action at home on Friday, April 10 starting at 6 p.m. against Nebraska-Kearney in a four game series.

— MWSU Sports Information —

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The 14th-ranked Missouri Western softball team lost their first home games of the season Tuesday as they were swept in a doubleheader at the Griffons Springs Sports Complex by Central Missouri, 12-1 and 8-6.

GAME 1: UCM 12, MWSU 1 (5 innings)

For the first time since Feb. 21, Griffon Softball was on the losing end of a run-rule game. The Griffons struggled to get anything going offensively and were in an early 7-0 hole after allowing six in the first and another in the second.

Janie Smith got the leadoff batter out then surrendered two straight outs and was charged with a fielding error on the fourth batter she faced, loading the bases with just one out. Smith then coaxed a pop up that froze the runners. The next six batters singled, driving in six unearned runs in the first inning.

MWSU managed just one run. It came in the fourth on an RBI-double from Katie Klosterman. No Griffon had more than one hit and the team totaled just six and committed two errors in the field. Smith took the loss (13-7), going three and a third innings, and allowing 10 runs on 10 hits, three of the runs were earned. Taylor Schaben went an inning and two –thirds in relief, surrendering two earned runs on five hits.

GAME 2: UCM 8, MWSU 6

After three in the first and one in the second, MWSU took an early 4-1 lead and looked to be in control until the Jennies took the lead in the sixth. UCM scored two in the fifth, three in the sixth and two in the seventh to take the game, 8-6.

MWSU had the tying run on second base in the bottom of the seventh but couldn’t advance the seventh or eighth runs of the game. Down 8-5 going into the final half inning, Paige Shifflett led off the inning with a single to center and Kailey Green followed with a walk. Klosterman struck out swinging to record the first out. Then Shelbie Atwell singled and things got crazy. Pinch running for Shifflett, Taylor Schaben made it to third on a throwing error by the center fielder. Schaben then advanced home when she was obstructed by the third baseman. Atwell made it to second and Green got to third in the melee. Megan Korgie made the second out when she struck out swinging in a pinch-hit at bat for Brooke Schaben. Rebekah Mueller ended it with a fly out to right.

Shifflett and Muller both homered in the game. Shifflett’s solo shot drove in the final two runs of the first inning and Mueller led off the second with a solo shot to center. Tiffany Gillaspy was 2-4 in game two with one RBI and a run scored. Shifflett was 2-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. Klosterman, Atwell and Mueller were all 2-4 as well. Shyanne Saladino had an up and down performance, picking up the loss in seven innings of work. Saladino gave up 11 hits and eight runs, four earned. She struck out three and walked one.

The losses dropped the team to 28-14 on the year and 12-6 in the MIAA. MWSU continues a challenging stretch this weekend with doubleheaders at Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State.

— MWSU Sports Information —