The Missouri Western baseball team picked up the second game of its three-game opening round tournament match against Southwest Baptist to send it to the final day.

The Griffons defeated the Bearcats 10-5.

Just like in game one, the Griffons jumped on the board early with a four-run second inning.

David Chew started it off with a single to center field. After Will Carter grounded out to move Chew to second, the scoring began.

Mitch Thorman sent a double to left field to score Chew. Jake Schrader then doubled to left center to mark the score 2-0. Hunter Weiss singled to left field and drove in Schrader. After that, Ryan Degner singled to the same spot to score Weiss.

After a scoreless third inning, the Griffons added two runs in each the fourth and fifth innings.

Weiss’ double to left field was followed by Degner’s home run and mark the score 6-0. In the fifth inning, Southwest Baptist added five runs in the top of the fifth to pull within a run.

Christian Binger belted a homer over the left-field fence for the 3-run long ball. That happened after Ross Wolfe’s single to shortstop, which scored Bo Helsel for the Bearcats’ first run of the game. Chance Wolfe hit a double and scored the second run off of Drew Miller’s single up the middle.

In the bottom of the fifth, Schrader tripled to score Carter and advanced home after a throwing error by Southwest. That made the score 8-5.
A run each was added in the sixth and eighth by the Griffons to make it 10-5. Missouri Western had 16 hits with no errors and the Bearcats had nine hits with two errors.

Jake Jones picked up his sixth win after pitching five innings. Josh Lansangan got the save. Tim Collins fell to 5-5 for the Bearcats.

Degner finished 4-for-4 at the No. 1 hole with three RBI. Schrader went 2-for-4 with three RBI. Weiss went 3-for-4 and had an RBI.

The two teams play the third game Saturday at 1 p.m. The winner of that match advances to Springfield, Mo. for the semi-finals played at Hammons Field.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western softball team scored 26 runs and had 21 hits run ruling Northwest Missouri State and Central Oklahoma on the first day of the MIAA Touranament.

Tiffany Gillaspy hit a three run walk-off homer against Northwest in a 16-7 victory while Sydney Washington blasted a walk-off three run homer in the 6th in a 10-1 victory over Central Oklahoma.

The Griffons will take on Northeastern State at 3:00 pm in the winners bracket and it’ll air live on ESPN 1550 and here on StJosephpost.com. The winner will advance to the MIAA Tournament Championship while the loser has to play again at 5:00 pm.

Game 1
MWSU 16
NWMSU 7 (6 innings)

Missouri Western racked up 14 hits as they earned a first round victory over Northwest Missouri. Northwest Missouri also added 11 hits in a game that saw plenty of offense.

For The Griffons Gillaspy homered going three for five and driving in five runs. Bre Fleshner also homered and scored three runs while Michelle Stevenson also added three runs batted in. Jackie Bishop came on to get the win pitching three innings and striking out two. She improved to 22-8 in the victory.

Game 2
MWSU 10
UCO 1 (6 innings)

Missouri Western put up four first inning runs and did not look back as they advanced to winners bracket semi-final. MWSU added six runs in the sixth inning icing the game.

Sydney Washington was one for three with three runs driven in, a home run and two runs scored. Kat Steponovich added two RBI and Katie Klosterman had two runs scored going two for three on the night. Emily Ditmore had the lone UCO run driven in by Hannah Justus. Bishop pitched six strong innings allowing just five hits and striking out eight. She improves to 23-8 with the victory. Bishop broke her single season record for strikeouts with 249 this season. Her old record was 243 which was set in 2012.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Mother nature definitely made it feel like playoff baseball as game time conditions felt like mid October as opposed to the first day of May as Missouri Western was defeated by Southwest Baptist 6-4 in game one of the MIAA Baseball Championship at the Spring Sports Complex.

SBU drew first blood in the opening frame as power hitting infielder Spencer Blackshear hit his 15th home run of the season to left center field off Grant Woods giving the Bearcats a 1-0 lead.  The Griffs came right back with a three run second.  With one out, Will Carter doubled, Hunter Weiss reached on an error and Mitch Thorman singled scoring Carter.  One batter later, Cody Childs doubled scoring Weiss, with Trevor LaHonta driving in the third run via sacrifice fly.

One inning later, David Chew tripled with one out and Jake Schrader’s sacrifice fly made it 4-1.

Grant Woods seemed to be cruising along until the 6th inning when with one out, three straight SBU hits culminating with a Chance Wolfe RBI ground out brought the Bearcats to within one at 4-3.

Woods was lifted six innings allowing three earned runs and striking out four.

Late inning stopper Mason Queen came on for the Griffons in the top of the seventh inning but the SBU bats stayed hot.  With runners at second and third and two out, the Griffs elected to walk Spencer Blackshear to load the bases.  Queen hit the next batter Jake Vore to tie the game, then Bo Helsel’s two out, two RBI single gave SBU their first lead of the game.

The Griffs threatened in the ninth as the first two batters reached, but SBU pitcher Cory Borsh, who was masterful all evening retired the last three Griffons for the final tally.

Borsh improves to 6-2 on the year in pitching a complete game allowing two earned runs and striking out two.

Queen took the loss for the Griffs falling to 3-4 allowing three runs in three innings.

SBU takes a 1-0 lead in the best of three game series with game two set for Friday, May 2nd at 6 PM at the Spring Sports Complex.  Admission is $5.00 for adults with children 6 & under and MWSU students being admitted free.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western softball team brought home a number of accolades following its 34-16 season including MIAA Pitcher of the Year and two First Team All-MIAA selections. Seven other Griffons were selected to the Honorable Mention squad.

Senior pitcher Jackie Bishop earned MIAA Pitcher of the Year for the second time in her career as well as being named first team for the fourth time in her outstanding career. Junior first baseman Tiffany Gillaspy was a first team selection for the first time in her career.

Bishop is completing one of the most successful playing careers in Missouri Western softball history. The Kirksville, Mo., natvie is a four-time First Team All-MIAA selection, two time MIAA Pitcher of the Year (2012-2014), three-time First Team All-Region recipient and an All-American selection in 2012. Bishop was also the MIAA Freshman of the Year in 2011. Bishop holds MWSU softball career records for wins (91), strikeouts (925), innings pitched (785.1), appearances (135) complete games (99) and shutouts (27). Additionally the two-time MIAA Pitcher of the Year holds MWSU single-season records for strikeouts (243) and shutouts (10) and is an integral member of a senior class that has gone 154-60 in its time dawning the Black and Gold. This season, the right-handed pitcher finished the regular season with a 21-8 overall record with a 1.09 ERA. She leads the MIAA with 239 strikeouts which is just five away from breaking her single season mark of 243 set in 2012. She has pitched 25 complete games with 10 shutouts and two saves this season. She has giving up just four hits per games while striking out eight per game. She has thrown three no-hitters this season and four in her career. She has been named the MIAA AstroTurf Pitcher of the Week four times this season and 11 times in her career.

Gillaspy topped off an impressive junior campaign being named to the first team for the first time in her career. Gillaspy a two-time MIAA AstroTurf Hitter of the Week is currently on an 18 game hitting streak and has hit safely in 40 of the Griffons 50 games. She currently leads the Griffons and is in the top-10 in the MIAA in batting average (.393), hits (64), doubles (12), home runs (11), RBI (49), total baseas (109) and slugging percentage (.669). Gillaspy was an honorable mention All-MIAA selection a season ago. She has had double digit hits in 18 games including going 4-for-4 against Central Missouri on March 14. She has also had five RBI in a game twice and hit two home runs and a double against Lincoln on April 12.

Players that were named to the honoralbe mention squad were, senior catcher Kat Steponovich, sophomore pitcher Janie Smith, senior shortstop Taylor Anding, freshman third baseman Katie Klosterman, freshman outfielder Sydney Washington, freshman outfield Morgan Rathmann and junior outfield Bre Fleschner.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The MIAA announced its academic award winners for the sport of golf on Thursday morning. Eight (four women, four men) Missouri Western golfers were named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll.

The MIAA Academic Honor Roll is for any sophomore, junior, and senior with at least a 3.00 cumulative GPA. To achieve honor roll status, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 and have at least two terms of attendance at the certifying member institution, excluding summer terms. The golfers that earned the honor are Tyler Gast, Derek Hawkins, James O’Brien, Scott Scheldon, Amber Chivington, Anna Kloeppel, Shelby Stone and Callie Wilson.

Newcomers and MIAA Academic Excellence Awards will be given out following the end of the 2013-14 school year.

— MWSU Sports Information —

With its 3-1 record this past week, the Missouri Western softball team held on to the No. 6 spot in the most recent NCAA Central Region Rankings.

The NCAA Central Region consists of teams from the the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA), Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and the Great American Conference (GAC).

The top eight teams in each region will advance to the NCAA Tournament, with the top two seeds in each region hosting postseason games.

The NCAA DII Softball Selection Show is set to air via webcast on NCAA.com on Monday, at 9 a.m. Automatic bids will be awarded to the three conference tournament winners with the final five spots awarded on an at-large basis.

MWSU is joined in the poll by fellow MIAA members Emporia State, Central Oklahoma and Fort Hays State, which ranked second, fifth and ninth in the regional rankings, respectively.

The Griffons travel to Overland Park, Kan., to take part in the MIAA Tournament beginning Thursday, at 6 p.m. MWSU’s first round opponent will be Northwest Missouri State.

NCAA Central Region Rankings

Team                        Overall Record    In-Region Record
1. Winona State (NSIC)    38-6    28-6
2. Emporia State (MIAA)    43-10    42-10
3. Minnesota State (NSIC)    41-9    36-7
4. Augustana (NSIC)    40-11    34-11
5. Central Oklahoma (MIAA)    39-13    39-13
6. Missouri Western State (MIAA)    34-16    34-16
7. Southeastern Oklahoma (GAC)    35-15    35-15
8. Arkansas Tech (GAC)    31-25    31-25
9. Fort Hays State (MIAA)    28-18    26-17
10. Southern Arkansas (GAC)    31-23    28-21

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western baseball team earned a first round home series in the MIAA Tournament being the 4th seed. The Griffons will take on the 5th seed Southwest Baptist Bearcats in a three game series starting on Thursday, May 1 at 6 pm at the MWSU Baseball Field in St. Joseph, Mo. The Griffons ended the regular season 28-17 and have not played the Southwest Baptist Bearcats this year who ended with a 28-22 overall record.

The two teams will play the second game of the series on Friday, May 2 at 6 pm and will play the if necessary game on Saturday, May 3 at 1 pm.

Central Missouri claimed the MIAA baseball regular season championship and earned the top seed the tournament.

The Mules will open up the best of three opening round series on their home field against eighth seeded Northeastern State. Emporia State used a late 15-game winning streak to earn the second seed and will host rival Washburn, who earns the tournaments seventh seed.

Central Oklahoma will be the third seed in the tournament and will host sixth seed Nebraska-Kearney in a best of three series.

The best of three series are scheduled to kick off on Thursday, May 1 with official games times to be released early next week. The winner of those four series will then travel to Hammons Field in Springfield, Mo. on May 8-10 to determine the MIAA Tourney champion.

May 1-3, 2014 (at Higher Seed)
#8 Northeastern State at #1 Central Missouri (best of three)
#7 Washburn at #2 Emporia State (best of three)
#6 Nebraska-Kearney at #3 Central Oklahoma (best of three)
#5 Southwest Baptist at #4 Missouri Western (best of three)

May 8, 2014 (Hammons Field, Springfield, Mo.)
Game 1: Winner #1/#8 vs. Winner #4/#5        11 a.m.
Game 2: Winner #3/#6 vs. Winner #2/#7        2:30 p.m.
Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2        6 p.m.

May 9, 2014 (Hammons Field, Springfield, Mo.)
Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2      11 a.m.
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4       2:30 p.m.

May 10, 2014 (Hammons Field, Springfield, Mo.)
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5      11 a.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (If Necessary)*
If necessary game will be played 30 minutes after the conclusion of game six

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western softball team secured the #3 seed in next week’s MIAA Tournament with a split on Saturday against the Central Oklahoma Bronchos. The Griffons will take on rival 6th seed Northwest Missouri State in the first round of the tournament on Thursday, May 1 at 6:00 pm in Overland Park, Kan. at Blue Valley Recreation Complex. The Griffons will take on 2nd seed Central Oklahoma or 7th seed Lindenwood at 8:00 pm that night. The tournament is a double elimination tournament.

This season the Griffons and the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats have met four times with the Griffons win three. The Griffons have shut the Bearcats out twice both when Jackie Bishop has been on the mound by scores 5-0 and 6-0. The Griffons lost 5-3 in St. Joseph and won 5-4 in Maryville. The Griffons split a pair of games with both Central Oklahoma (L, 2-0 (8 inn.) – W, 5-4) and Lindenwood (W, 4-3 – L, 11-10 (10 inn.)).

Emporia State earned the MIAA regular season championship and the top seed in the MIAA Softball Tournament. The Hornets will face Northeastern State in the opening round as the RiverHawks earn the eighth.

Central Oklahoma earns the second seed in the MIAA Tournament will face Lindenwood who will be the seventh seed. Missouri Western has claimed the third seed and will face sixth seeded Northwest Missouri in the opening round. The fourth seed was earned by Fort Hays State who will take on fifth seeded Central Missouri.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western baseball team secured a first round home series in the MIAA Tournament with a four game sweep over the Fort Hays State Tigers.

The Griffons got a solid pitching performance in game one from seniors Jake Jones and Mason Queen and used a five run seventh inning in game two picking up the 7-4 victory.

Western improves to 28-17 overall and 24-14 in MIAA play. They will play their first game on Thrusday, May 1 at 6 pm at the Griffon baseball field.

MWSU 1
FHSU 0

The Griffons got a walk off single by Ryan Degner in the first game scoring Trevor LaHonta giving them a 1-0 victory. The Griffons had just four hits in the game with two coming in the seventh inning.

The Griffons got a solid pitching performance from Jones as he went 5.2 innings giving up just two hits while striking out eight. Mason Queen picked up the victory going 1.1 innings. He improves to 3-3 with the victory.

The Tigers had just two hits in the game while Steven Federau got the loss going 6.1 innings giving up four hits and one earned run while striking out four. He falls to 2-7 with the loss.

Game 2
MWSU 7
FHSU 4

The Griffons rallied in game two scoring five runs in the 7th inning claiming the 7-4 victory. The Griffons pounded out nine hits with Dylan Koch, Will Carter and Mitch Thorman each getting two. Koch and Schrader had two RBI singles in the seventh inning securing the comeback.

The first two Griffons struggled on the mound giving up seven hits and four earned run but the final three were lights out. Tyler Tuepker went 1.1 innings givin gup one hits while Banks Born went 2.1 with a walk and a strikeout. He got the victory improving to 2-0 on the season. Queen came in and went two innings not surrendering a hit.

The Tigers fall to 17-29 on the season and 14-26 in MIAA play. They had eight hits in the gmae with eight different players getting a hit. Gus Strunk got the loss going six innings giving up seven hits and four earned. He falls to 1-1 with the loss. Gabe Cook went two innings with two hits and two earned runs.

The Griffons honored six seniors before game as they played their last regular season home game. They include: David Chew, Jake Schrader, Jeremy Monty, Mark Spreckles, Mason Queen and Jake Jones.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western softball team used a comeback effort picking up a split against the Central Oklahoma Bronchos on senior day. The Griffons fell in game on in a heart breaker 2-0 in extra innings before scoring five runs in the bottom of the 4th taking game two 5-4. The Griffons improve to 34-16 overall and 17-9 in MIAA play. The Griffons secure the three seed in next weeks MIAA Tournament which will be held at Blue Valley Recreation Complex in Overland Park, Kan. The first two rounds of the tournament will be held on Thursday, May 1 at 6 pm and 8 pm.

Game 1
UCO 2
MWSU 0 (8 innings)

Despite throwing a no-hitter into the 8th inning against the Central Oklahoma Bronchos Jackie Bishop gave up three two out hits dropping an extra 2-0 game. Bishop struck out 11 Bronchos in the contest with just one walk. She falls to 21-8 on the season.

The Griffons could not get much going against Kalynn Schrock leaving four runners on base. They got just one hit in the contest which came in the bottom of the third inning.

The Bronchos got back-to-back two out doubles in the 8th from Hanna Justus and Kaylee Brunson scoring the first run of the game. Devyn Frazier followed the doubles up with a single giving the Bronchos the 2-0 lead.

The Griffons got the lead off hitter on in the 8th off a hit by pitch but that would be it as Schrock picked up her 23rd victory of the season. Schrock went all eight innings giving up one hit with 10 strikeouts.

Game 2
MWSU 5
UCO 4

In the second game of the doubleheader the Griffons used a five run fourth inning picking up the big 5-4 victory. The Griffons got a three run RBI double from Gillaspy in the inning to give them the lead for good.

Janie Smith got the victory for the Griffons going four innings giving up seven hits and three earned runs with two strikeouts. She improves to 13-8 on the season. Bishop got her second save going three innings giving up five hits and one earned run with three strikeouts.

The Bronchos jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning when Kaylee Brunson scored on a sac fly from Ally Dziadula. They took a 3-0 lead in the third getting two hits which included doubles Dziadula and Emily Ditmore.

In the fourth the Griffons got two hits, two walks and four earned runs off Nicole Brady. Gillaspy hit her base clearing double giving the Griffons the 5-3 lead.

The rest of teh game the was tight as UCO left seven runners on base including the bases loaded in the sixth and seventh. Bishop ended the game with her 14th strikeout of the day securing the victory.

The Bronchos fall to 39-13 overall and 22-4 in MIAA play. They left 15 runners on base and had 12 hits. Brunson, Dziadula, Tori Collet and Hanna Justus each had two hits in the contest. Amanda McClelland pitched three innings giving up two hits and five strikeouts. Schrock went 2.2 innings giving up one hit while striking out four.

The Griffons also honored four Griffon seniors after the game who played their last home games of their career. They include; Kat Steponovich, Jackie Bishop, Michelle Stevenson and Taylor Anding. They also honored two juniors that will graduate in December who are Bre Fleschner and Sydney McCune.

— MWSU Sports Information —