EMPORIA, Kan. – Mitch Thorman’s walk-off single in game two handed No. 4 Emporia State their first loss of the season as the the Missouri Western baseball team split a doubleheader at Emporia Friday.

Game 1: #4 ESU 10, MWSU 6

Western couldn’t hang on to an early 4-0 lead in a 10-6 loss to No. 4 Emporia State.

The Griffons scored four in the first, getting home runs from Orencio Fisher and D’Andre Heggie. Emporia State tied it with four in the second, then added three each in the third and fourth innings to take a 10-4 lead.

David Glaude hit his third home run of the season and the team’s third of the game in the fifth. MWSU loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh, but managed just one run.

Josh Lansangan took the loss, going two and a third and giving up seven runs. Fisher, Glaude and Cosimo Cannella all had two hits.

Game 2: MWSU 4, #4 ESU 3

Missouri Western overcame an early 3-0 deficit to win game two in walk-off fashion. Mitch Thorman singled to right center and drove in David Glaude for the winning .

Emporia State led 3-0 after the sixth. The Griffons answered with one of their own in the sixth. They tacked on another in the seventh. D’Andre Heggie struck out looking with the bases loaded to end the seventh. He and Buzz Verduzco were ejected for arguing the call.

Richard Peoples picked up the win in relief. He went three and a third after replacing Grant Woods in the sixth. Glaude was the only Griffon with two hits, going 2-4.

The Griffons ended the day 4-5 and 1-1 in the MIAA. They’re scheduled to play two more Saturday.

— MWSU Sports Information —

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Missouri Western men’s basketball team rallied from a seven-point first half deficit Wednesday night inside the MWSU Fieldhouse and they beat Lincoln 65-59.

Lincoln led with 10:30 to go but Western took the lead on a three from Cortrez Colbert with 8:45 left and held on to get the win as they move to 11-12 overall and 7-9 in the MIAA.

Colbert was big in the final minutes, scoring 11 of his season-high 29 points in the final 10 minutes of the game. The senior scored almost half of the team’s final 23 points.

Currie Byrd added 12 points. The freshman dashed Lincoln’s comeback hopes with a three-pointer with 50 seconds remaining that gave the Griffons a four-point lead. The Griffons were outrebounded, 28-24 and shot just 20 percent from three-point range while allowing Lincoln to shoot 54 percent from the field. Those big baskets late extended the Blue Tiger’s losing streak to 16 games and put MWSU in good position to clinch a spot in the MIAA postseason tournament.

Missouri Western will look to avenge a one-point loss to Northwest Missouri State back on Feb. 4 when they travel to Maryville this Saturday.

— MWSU Sports Information —

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Missouri Western women’s basketball team won its fourth consecutive home game, all coming by 20 or more points, with a 77-49 win over Lincoln Wednesday night.

The win avenged a loss to the Blue Tigers earlier this season and clinched a spot in the MIAA Tournament for Missouri Western. The Griffons move to 12-10 overall and 7-9 in MIAA play.

Aided by a career-high 20 points from Ariana Novak, the Griffons had little trouble dispatching of the visiting Blue Tigers. As a team, MWSU shot 53 percent from the field and 37 percent from behind the arc, while holding Lincoln to 33 percent from each. Novak went 6-10 from three-point range and 7-16 from the field. She added five rebounds to go with her 20 points. LaQuinta Jefferson finished with a game-high 24 points and added four rebounds  and four assists.

The Griffons forced 22 Lincoln turnovers and outscored the Blue Tigers, 42-16 in the paint along with holding a 38-26 rebounding advantage.

Missouri Western looks to wrap up a spot in the MIAA tournament field when they travel to Northwest Missouri State on Feb. 21. Missouri Western defeated the Bearcats, 58-37 earlier this season.

— MWSU Sports Information —

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Winter weather has forced Missouri Western’s baseball home opener to be rescheduled and moved. The Griffons were to play No. 4 Emporia State in a four-game series Friday through Sunday in St. Joseph. Those games will now be played in Emporia, Kansas on Thursday and Friday.

MIAA rules will allow Missouri Western to still be considered the home team, though the games will be played in Emporia.

The fourth ranked Hornets are 4-0 and ended the Griffons season last year with two wins in the MIAA Tournament.

Missouri Western will enter the series with a 3-4 record. MWSU Head Coach Buzz Verduzco will begin his quest for 300 MIAA victories as he enters the MIAA schedule with 298 conference wins.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Joplin, Mo. – The Missouri Western men’s basketball team came close to a redemption win in Joplin, but ultimately fell short in an 83-77 loss at Missouri Southern.

The Griffons erased a six-point halftime deficit to take a 73-71 lead with 4:29 to go. Missouri Southern would outscore the Griffons 12-6 over the final four minutes. Free throws by Missouri Southern down the stretch proved to be the difference with the Lions finishing 31-44 from the line while the Griffons went 22-30.

The Griffons finished shooting 42 percent from the field, 28 percent from three-point range and 73.3 percent from the free throw line. Cortrez Colbert led all scorers with 17 points and six rebounds. Kevin Thomas finished with a double-double, scoring 12 and pulling down 14 rebounds. Currie Byrd had 11 points and Hans Thun added 10.

Missouri Western sits at 10-12 overall and 6-9 in MIAA play as they return home to face Lincoln this Wednesday.

— MWSU Sports Information —

JOPLIN, Mo. – The Missouri Western women’s basketball team had its three-game winning streak snapped in an 81-69 loss at Missouri Southern Saturday.

The Griffons led by four with four minutes to go in the first half, but a 10-0 run to close the half by the Lions put MWSU down 37-31 at the half. Missouri Southern stretched their lead to 15 on an 8-0 run lead to open the second half and never looked back.

Both teams made 21 field goals but 35 of 42 shooting from the free throw line by Missouri Southern proved to be the difference. MWSU shot 42 percent from the field, 20 percent from three-point range and 72.7 percent at the free throw line.

LaQuinta Jefferson scored 27 with Miliakere Koyamainavure adding 13 with 10 rebounds. Sarafina Handy ended the game with 10 points but was limited to 16 minutes due to foul trouble.

The Griffons return home with an 11-10 record, 6-9 in MIAA play when they host Lincoln this Wednesday.

— MWSU Sports Information —

BENTONVILLE, Ark. – The Missouri Western softball team outscored their opponents 10-3 on the way to a 2-0 day to open the 8-State Classic in Bentonville, Arkansas Friday. Sydney Washington reached base all seven times she came to the plate and finished the day, 5-7.

Game 1: MWSU 3, Truman State 2

The Griffons stole five bases in a 3-2 win over Truman State, Friday, to open the 8-State Classic.

The Griffons got off to a great start, scoring a run two batters into the game, with the first three batters reaching base. Morgan Rathmann led off with a single and scored when Tiffany Gillaspy doubled to left. Shyanne Saladino struck out the first two batters she faced in the first but then surrendered a solo home run to tie the game at one. Saladino recovered, striking out her third in the inning after the home run. The newcomer got the win, moving to 3-0 on the season. She allowed five hits, all in the first four innings and struck out six.

Missouri Western added another in the third. Sydney Washington tripled and scored two batters later when Kailey Green drove her in. The Griffons scored what proved to be the winning run in the fifth. Rathmann led off the inning with a single, stole second and third and came home on a Washington single. Rathmann and Washington each had two hits.

Game 2: MWSU 7, Quincy 1

The Griffons scored three quick runs in the first with five of the first six batters reaching, on the way to a 7-1 win in game two over Quincy.

Morgan Rathmann led off the game with a single. Tiffany Gillaspy followed with a single of her own, then Sydney Washington added a third straight single to bring Rathmann home. Washington would bring Rathmann home again in the second for the team’s fourth run. They added two more in the third when Rathmann drove Katie Klosterman and Emilie Laliberte home with a single. MWSU’s final run of the game came in the fourth when Washington led off the inning with a solo homer.

Washington finished the game with three hits and three RBI, reaching base all four times. Gillaspy added three hits and a run scored and Rathmann had two hits with two runs scored. Janie Smith picked up her second win of the season, going the distance and allowing just three hits and one run, while striking out 10.

Missouri Western takes a 5-2 record into day two at the 8-State Classic. They’ll take on Minnesota-Duluth at 1 p.m. and Southern Arkansas at 3 p.m.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The 2014 version of the Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America Team features three Missouri Western football players. Punter Scott Groner, defensive back Michael Jordan and kicker John Schmiemeier were all named honorable mention.

For Jordan, it’s another in a long list of 2014 postseason awards. The St. Louis native was also a first team AFCA All-American, a first team All-MIAA selection and a first team D2Football.com All-American. Jordan was also named the Don Hansen All-Super Region Three and Daktronics All-Super Region Three second teams, along with being a third team pick on the AP Little All-America team.

Groner was also a first team All-MIAA pick along with being named second team Don Hansen All-Super Region Three. The Australian averaged 42.2 yards per punt, including 15 punts over 50 yards.

Schmiemeier was a second team All-MIAA and Don Hansen All-Super Region Three choice. He was named MIAA Special Teams Athlete of the Week twice this past season. The Fenton, Missouri native was 18-25 on field goal attempts and a perfect, 25-25 on extra point tries.

— MWSU Sports Information —

It didn’t take Shyanne Saladino long to make an impact on the Missouri Western softball team. The junior transfer has been named the MIAA/AstroTurf Pitcher of the Week after her first action in a Griffon uniform.

Saladino went 2-0 over the weekend in Arkansas without giving up a run. The Davenport, Iowa native went the distance in both of her starts, pitching 12 innings, while allowing 10 hits and striking out five batters. She pitched seven innings in the Griffons 2-0 win over Henderson State on Saturday and needed only five on Sunday as MWSU scored 14 in a win over Arkansas-Monticello.

Saladino was a first team NFCA All-American and second team NJCAA All-American at Kirkwood Community College, where she went 25-2 with a 1.28 ERA.

— MWSU Sports Information —

SEARCY, Ark. – The Missouri Western baseball team dropped the final game of their three-games series against Harding, losing 2-1 on a walk-off home run.

The Bison’s Alan Copeland made his only hit count on the day as he hit a walk-off two-run homerun in the bottom of the ninth inning to propel his team to victory.

The Griffons strong point was their pitching to limit the Bison to just eight hits. Banks Born pitched five strong innings and only allowed four hits.

Both teams offensively were kept silent until late in the game when Missouri Western scored the first run of the game.

In the top of the eighth inning, Ryan Degner led off the Griffons with a single to right center and Orencio Fisher reached on a fielder’s choice. David Glaude eventually loaded the bases after being hit by a pitch. The Griffon’s Mitch Thorman batted in the first run of the game on a fielder’s choice, allowing Degner to score from third.

The Griffons fall to 3-4 overall this season and will be back in action against MIAA foe #6 Emporia State on Friday, February 20.

— MWSU Sports Information —