KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After a couple of rain delays Tuesday night, the Missouri Western baseball team picked up a non-conference win at Rockhurst 13-2.

Pushed back two hours from the original start time due to rain, the teams didn’t get through the first inning before rain forced another delay with the Griffons leading 3-0. When play resumed, little changed as Missouri Western put on an offensive performance more consistent with what the team has been used to of late.

The Griffons piled on 16 hits, scoring three in the first, two in the fourth and sixth and three runs in the eighth and again in the ninth inning. In the first, MWSU got RBIs from Cosimo Cannella, Mitch Thorman and Dylon Koch. Missouri Western took a 5-0 lead in the fourth when Trevor LaHonta and Brandon Downs scored after David Glaude reached on an error. Grant Woods allowed a leadoff single and two walks in the bottom of the fifth before he was replaced by Weston Caindec. Caindec induced the second out of the inning before giving up a single that pulled the Hawks within two. Caindec picked up the win, going two and two-thirds, with two hits and two strikeouts. The junior reliever ran his scoreless innings streak to over 12. He hasn’t surrendered a run since Feb. 20 at Emporia State. The bullpen kept home plate closed the rest of the way as the Griffon offense continued to tack onto the lead.

Cody Childs drove in one in the sixth with a single before Cannella drove Childs home later in the inning to put MWSU up 7-2. Cannella made it 10-2 in the eighth with a two-RBI double to left and RBIs from Ryan Degner, Childs and Jerico Burasco pushed the Griffon lead to 13-2 in the top of the ninth. Cannella finished the evening 3-6 with four RBIs. Degner and Childs both went 2-3 with Childs driving in two and scoring four. Downs finished 3-5 with two runs scored and LaHonta went 2-4 with a pair of runs scored.

The win pushed Missouri Western to 17-9 overall. The team puts its 5-0 record at the Spring Sports Complex on the line this weekend when it hosts nationally ranked and MIAA leading Missouri Southern in a four-game series that begins Friday at 2 p.m.

— MWSU Sports Information —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After helping their team go 10-0 last week and stretch its winning streak to 12 games, two member of the Missouri Western softball team have been rewarded for their efforts. Tiffany Gillaspy has been named the MIAA Hitter of the Week and Janie Smith is the MIAA Pitcher of the Week.

Gillaspy batted .529 and slugged 1.059 in 10 games last week. The senior infielder went 18-34 at the plate with four doubles, four home runs and a triple. She drove in 15 runs and did not strike out in 10 regional wins, two coming against ranked opponents. Coming into the week, Gillaspy was batting .355 but used the stellar week to bump her average up to .417.

Smith went 5-0 with a 1.85 ERA last week, picking up a shutout win over No. 14 Winona State and a one-run win over No. 24 Augustana. The junior pitcher also shutout Northwest Missouri State last week and picked up wins over Southeastern Oklahoma State and Minnesota State. Smith went the distance in all five starts, allowing just seven earned runs in 34 innings, while striking out 16 and not allowing an extra base hit. Smith is the second MWSU pitcher to win the award this season, with Shyanne Saladino claiming the title earlier this spring.

The Griffons return to MIAA play this week, hosting Lindenwood on March 27 and Lincoln on March 28. So far this season, the team is 21-9 overall, 6-2 in the MIAA and 10-0 at home.

— MWSU Sports Information —

OKLAHOMA CITY, Ok. – The Missouri Western men’s golf team finished the Central Oklahoma Broncho Invitational in 10th place, scoring a 618 in the two rounds of golf at the Gaillardia Country Club.

First Round

The Griffons finished in 13th place after day one of the Broncho Invitational at the Gaillardia Country Club. Missouri Western fired a team score of 312 in their first round.

The Griffons were led by Jakob Rudosky, shooting a 75 in his first round, tying him for 28th place in the tournament. Ryan Hand was second on the team with a score of 77 in round one.

Central Oklahoma sits on top with a team score of 286 with Central Missouri sitting second at 291. Stefan Idstam of Southwestern Oklahoma State is the individual leader after day one with a score of 66.

Second Round

In the final round of the Broncho Invitational the Griffons finished with a 306 in their second round. MWSU tied for the second best score on the day as a team to help move up their spots after the first day of competition.

Jakob Rudosky finished with a team-low 151 in his two rounds of golf, tying him for 23rd in the competition. The Griffons’ Corey Knight scored a 155 in his two days of competition.

Central Oklahoma finished the tournament as the team champion, firing a 596 team score for the two rounds. Stefan Idstam held the lead throughout the tournament finishing with a score of 143 to take home the individual award.

The Griffons return to action on Monday, April 6 in Mountain Home, Arkansas at the Big Creek Golf Club. Henderson State will be hosting the three-day event.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Topeka, Kan. – The Missouri Western baseball team earned a split of their four-game series at No. 21 Washburn Sunday, dropping the final game of the series, 12-5.

The loss leaves Missouri Western with a 16-9 overall record and an 11-5 mark in the MIAA.

Washburn jumped out to a 5-0 lead, getting two home runs in the third, one a three-run shot and the other a two-run homer. Those five runs chased starter Matt Russell from the game. He went three innings and gave up five runs on five hits. Kyle Kelly entered in relief, going two innings and allowing three earned runs on four hits. A.J. Martinez allowed four earned runs on two hits in two-thirds of an inning.

Down 5-0 going into the fourth, MWSU got one on an RBI single from Andrew Ramirez and Dylon Koch pushed one in when he grounded into a double play. In the fifth, MWSU got within two when David Glaude grounded into a double play that allowed Trevor LaHonta to score. Washburn went up 12-4 in the seventh on a two-RBI single and a two-RBI triple before the Griffons scored their final run in the ninth on an error that allowed LaHonta to score.

Mitch Thorman went 3-4 in the game with two runs scored and Cody Childs went 3-5. The loss evened Russell’s record to 2-2. The Griffons will travel to Kansas City to play Rockhurst on Tuesday before hosting Missouri Southern next weekend.

— MWSU Sports Information —

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Missouri Western softball team wrapped up the Apple Market Classic Sunday going 6-0 and running its winning streak to 12 games.

Missouri Western ends the weekend 21-9 and was the only team in the 15-team field to win all of its games, outscoring their six opponents 36-5, including two shutouts.

GAME 1: MWSU 7, Wayne State 1

Griffon Softball stretched its win streak to 11 games and improved to 5-0 in the Apple Market Classic with a 7-1 revenge win against Wayne State.

MWSU jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two innings. Kailey Green put MWSU up 2-0 in the first with a double. Tiffany Gillaspy and Sydney Washington each hit RBI singles in the second to put the Griffons up 4-0. Shyanne Saladino gave up her one run in the game in the third on an RBI single. Saladino allowed just one unearned run on three hits and struck out seven, improving to 11-4 on the year.

Katie Klosterman made it 5-1 in the fifth with a solo home run to center and Gillaspy drove in two more in the fifth with a double to left. Gillaspy finished game one 3-4 with three driven in and two RBIs. Morgan Rathmann was 2-4 with one run scored. Wayne State defeated the Griffons, 3-2 on Feb. 21 at the Kelly Laas Memorial Invite in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

GAME 2: MWSU 8, #14 Winona State 0 (6 innings)

For the second day in a row, the Griffons showed little difficulty in dispatching a ranked opponent.

Missouri Western broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third when Paige Shifflett drove Rathmann home with an RBI single. Shifflett drove in the first run of a four-run fifth with another RBI single and the freshman put MWSU up 6-0 in the sixth with her third RBI single of the game. Katie Klosterman pushed in the team’s seventh run with an RBI double in the sixth and Shelbie Atwell’ss sac fly in the sixth ended the game with the Griffons leading by eight.

MWSU got another standout pitching performance in the game. Janie Smith moved to 10-5 on the year, going all six innings and allowing just three hits, while striking out four.

— MWSU Sports Information —

St. Joseph, Mo. – The Missouri Western women’s golf team opened its spring season with the Holiday Inn Express Central Region Invitational on their home course Sunday at the St. Joseph Country Club.

Missouri Western is currently placed sixth out of the 15 teams at the tournament.

The Griffons as a team shot a 327 while Arkansas Tech currently leads the field with a team score of 307 in their opening round.

MWSU’s Celine Lim is tied for the tournament low, scoring a 75 in her first round on Sunday. Madison Romjue and Amber Chivington were finished second and third on the team scoring a 82 and 84, respectively.

The 2015 MWSU/Holiday Inn Express Invitational will conclude tomorrow begin at 10 a.m. Monday morning.

— MWSU Sports Information —

TOPEKA, Kan. – The Missouri Western baseball team picked up a pair of wins over No. 21 Washburn with a doubleheader sweep of the Ichabods in Topeka Saturday. The Griffons came back to take game one, 6-4 and lit up the scoreboard late in an 11-1 win in game two.

GAME 1: MWSU 6, #21 Washburn 4

The Griffons rallied, scoring three in the sixth with two outs to take game one of the doubleheader, 6-4.

Trevor LaHonta drove in the first run of the inning with a double to left center that brought Dylon Koch home. The next batter was Ryan Degner, who drove in two with a double of his own to left center. Degner finished the day 3-4 with three RBIs, one run scored, a double and a home run. He put the Griffons up 1-0 in the first on a solo shot to left. David Glaude made it 2-0 in the first with a sacrifice fly that brought Cody Childs home.

Washburn answered with three in the bottom half of the inning and Mitch Thorman tied the game at three in the third with an RBI single. A solo home run in the third put Washburn up 4-3 before the Griffons’ two-out rally in the sixth. David Anderson picked up the win in relief, and Mike Calimeno earned his second save of the year. Childs and Yeager each picked up two hits in the game.

GAME 2: MWSU 11, #21 Wasburn 1

The Griffons used six runs in the fifth and three runs in the sixth to blow open what had been a close game through the first four innings.

Up 2-0 headed in the fifth, MWSU took advantage of Washburn miscues early in the inning. After singling to lead off the inning, Dylon Koch advanced to second, then third on wild pitches with Yeager at the plate. Yeager would walk and the next batter, LaHonta, was hit by a pitch that loaded the bases for Degner. The senior roped a double down the left field line that brought Koch and Yeager home to put the Griffons up 4-0. David Glaude made it 5-0 on an RBI single and Cosimo Cannella brought in the sixth run with a sacrifice fly to right. Koch would bat again in the inning and put the Griffons up 8-0 with a single up the middle.

Missouri Western tacked on three more on a two-RBI single from Childs and an RBI single from Cannella in the sixth to go up 11-0. Missouri Western tallied 14 hits, with only two players not getting one in the game. Banks Born pitched all seven innings, moving to 3-0 on the year after allowing just one run on five hits. Thorman went 3-4 and Koch was 3-4. Cannella, Glaude and Degner each picked up two hits in game two.

The wins moved Missouri Western’s record to 16-8 on the year and 11-4 in the MIAA with a chance to grab another from the Ichabods tomorrow at 1 p.m. in Topeka.

— MWSU Sports Information —

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Missouri Western softball team stretched its win-streak to 10 games, defeating Concordia University-St. Paul and No. 24 Augustana on the second day of the Apple Market Classic Satuday. The wins improved the team to 19-9 on the year.

GAME 1: MWSU 10, Concordia-St. Paul 1 (6 innings)

Missouri Western belted 16 hits, including three home runs to back up a solid performance from Shyanne Saladino to win the team’s ninth straight game.

Tiffany Gillaspy put MWSU up 1-0 in the first with a solo home run to right. Paige Shifflett drove in one more in the first with an RBI single. Already up 4-0 in the fourth, Tiffany Gillaspy hit her second home run of the game, this time a two-run shot that gave MWSU a 6-0 lead. Concordia added one in the sixth but Emilie Laliberte drove in one on a groundout in the sixth and Brooke Schaben ended the game in the sixth with a three-run home run to left.

Gillaspy finished 2-4 with three driven in and two runs scored. Morgan Rathmann and Sydney Washington both when 3-4. Schaben was also 2-4 with three driven in and two runs scored. Saladino moved to 10-4 on the year. She struck out six and walked just one in six innings, while allowing four hits.

GAME 2: MWSU 4, #24 Augustana 1

Kailey Green went 3-3 at the plate, driving in three of the Griffons’ runs as the team took its second game of the year from Augustana and pushed its win streak to 10 games.

Green drove in her first in the second on a solo home run down the left field line. She picked up another RBI in the third on a single to left center that put MWSU up 3-0. In the fifth, she made it 4-0 with another RBI single. Janie Smith allowed just four hits and one run and moved to 9-5 with the win.

Gillaspy added to her impressive day, going 2-3 with two runs scored. Katie Klosterman also went 2-3. After winning the first four of the Apple Market Classic, MWSU will play host to Wayne State College at 11 a.m., Sunday, and No. 14 Winona State at 1 p.m.

— MWSU Sports Information —

TOPEKA, Kan. – The Missouri Western baseball team rallied on Friday but came up short as they lost their 4-game series opener at No. 21 Washburn 3-2.

The Griffons fell behind 3-0 but added two in the seventh, then left two on base in the eighth to drop their record to 14-8 overall and 9-4 in the MIAA.

The 21st ranked Ichabods got one run home in the first on a wild pitch then added two in the third on an RBI single and an RBI double. Grant Woods exited after the third; giving up three earned runs on four hits and wialking two, while striking out three. Weston Caindec entered in relief and shut the door on the Ichabods for the next five innings. Caindec allowed five hits, while striking out six and walking two.

Cosimo Cannella put the Griffons on the board in the seventh, driving Mitch Thorman home with a single to left. Later in the inning, Andrew Ramirez’s ground out brought Dylon Koch in to bring MWSU within one. Cody Childs led off the eighth with an infield single and advanced to second on a passed ball. After two straight outs, David Glaude drew a walk to put two for Andy Rieth, who was pinch hitting for Thorman, but Rieth flied out to left to end the MWSU threat.

Childs finished 2-4 on the day and was the only Griffon with more than one hit. Cannella and Ramirez picked up the RBIs. The loss dropped Woods to 1-2 on the year. The two teams will do it again in a doubleheader, Saturday, beginning at 2 p.m.

— MWSU Sports Information —