The Missouri Western baseball team gave fell in the final game of the four game series against the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers 11-6 on Sunday afternoon. The Griffons fall to 15-14 on the season and are 11-11 in MIAA play. They return to action on Friday April 4th opening up a four game series in Jefferson City, Mo. against the Lincoln Blue Tigers.

The Lopers got on the board first getting three runs on two hits. Jayke Brock hit a two RBI double to right center helping the Lopers to the 3-0 lead after one.

The Griffons responded in the 2nd inning when Jake Schrader blasted his seventh homer of the year cutting the lead to 3-2. Later in the inning Dylan Koch singled to right field scoring two more giving the Griffons the 4-3 lead after two innings.

The score stayed that way until the fourth when the Lopers took the lead for good with three more runs on four hits. After the fourth inning UNK led 6-4. The score stayed that way until 5th when Schrader blasted his second homer of the game and eighth of the season cutting the lead to 6-5 after five.

The rest of the way belonged to the Lopers outscoring the Griffons 5-1 getting the 11-6 victory. The Lopers improve to 19-12 overall and 13-11 in MIAA play.

The Griffons had seven hits with Hunter Weiss going 3-for-5 with a run scored while Schrader had two hits, three RBI and two runs scored. Jake Jones falls to 3-2 going 3.2 innings giving up five hits and four earned runs while striking out four.

Michael Hahn got the victory for the Lopers going 5.1 innings giving up five hits and three earned runs with five strikeouts. The Lopers had 14 hits with Brandon Landanger and Brent Kirsch each getting three.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western softball team pounded out 19 hits and scored 19 runs in a doubleheader sweep over the Missouri Southern Lions. Tiffany Gillaspy went 4-for-6 with three runs scored and six RBI while Katie Klosterman had three hits with three RBI and a run score. The Griffons improve to 22-14 on the season and 7-7 in MIAA play. They return to action on Friday, April 4 with an MIAA doubleheader against the Fort Hays State Tigers. First pitch is scheduled for 4 pm.

Game 1
MWSU 8
MSSU 1

The Missouri Western softball team scored five runs in the fifth inning earning an 8-1 victory in game one against the Missouri Southern Lions. Jackie Bishop went all seven innings improving to 14-6 on the season. She gave up just three hits while striking out eight.

The Griffons got on the board first in the third inning as Morgan Rathmann singled on a bunt and scored on a single down the left field line by Gillaspy. The Lions responded in the top of the 4th on a throwing error by Klosterman.

The rest of the game belonged to the Griffons scoring two runs in the fourth on three hits. Klosterman had an RBI single to left field and Rathmann had a sac bunt scoring Michelle Stevenson giving the Griffons a 3-1 lead after four innings.

In the 5th Washington led off with a walk and advanced to third on a double by Gillaspy. Washington scored on a wild pitch and Gillaspy scored on a passed ball. Gillaspy scored on a passed ball and later Brooke Schaben scored on a double steal after she walked earlier in the inning. Klosterman had an RBI single and and Rathmann had another sac bunt scoring the last two Griffon runs giving them the 8-1 lead.

Bishop shut down the Lions the rest of the game giving the Griffons their 21st victory of the season. The Griffons had eight hits with Gillaspy and Klosterman both getting two. Klosterman and Rathmann both had two RBI in the game.

Shelby Mitchell falls to 1-5 on the season going four innings giving up seven hits and five earned runs. They had just three hits with Alana Heser, Alexah Replogle and Brooke Swadley all getting one.

Game 2
MWSU 11
MSSU 2 (5 innings)

The Griffons scored six runs in the second inning and five in the third earning an 11-2 victory in game two. Gillaspy went 2-for-3 at the plate with five RBI which included a grand slam in the third inning. Janie Smith picked up the victory going five innings giving up four hits and one earned run. She improves to 8-8 on the season.

After getting down 2-0 the Griffons answered with six runs in the second inning. The Griffons got six straight two out hits in the inning plating six runs. In the third the Griffons plated five more which included four on Gillaspy’s eighth homer of the season.

The rest of the game belonged to the Griffons as the Lions fall to 10-24 on the season and 2-8 in MIAA play.

The Griffons had 11 hits with Washington, Gillaspy and Rathmann each getting two. The Lions had just four hits with Alexah Replogle going 2-for-2. Sarah Williams got the loss going three innings giving up 10 hits and five earned runs. She falls to 3-8 with the loss.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western baseball team split a pair of games on Saturday afternoon against the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers. The Griffons came back in game one winning 9-6 but gave up a 3-0 lead in game two falling 4-3. Missouri Western sits at 15-13 overall and 11-10 in MIAA play.

Game 1
MWSU 9
UNK 6

In game one the Griffons got a two run homer in the 7th inning extending the Griffons lead to 9-6. Mason Queen pitched well for the Griffons in relief going 4.2 innings giving up four hits and one earned run with five strikeouts. He improves to 2-3 on the season.

The Griffons got two runs in the first inning when Trevor LaHonta doubled and scored on a ground out by David Chew. Later in the inning Jake Schrader singled in Ryan Degner giving the Griffons the 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the first UNK answered with four runs which included a three run homer by Max Ayoub.

Missouri Western stayed calm getting two runs on two hits in the second inning tying the score at four. Cody Childs got an RBI double and LaHonta singled in Childs tying the score at four.

The Lopers got on more run in the second taking a 5-4 lead but the Griffons responded once again tying the score when Jeremy Monty singled in Degner. In the 5th Anthony Pacheco homered giving the Lopers the 6-5 lead after five innings.

Once again the Griffons responded taking the lead in the 6th. Childs got a bunt single scoring scoring Jake Scharder and then Hunter Weiss scored on a throwing error by the pitcher giving the Griffons the 7-6 lead. In the seventh Scharder blasted a two run homer giving the Griffons the 9-6 victory.

The Griffons had nine hits with Scharder getting three. Childs and LaHonta both had two in the contest.

The Lopers had 12 hits with Landanger getting three. Pacheco, Jayke Brock and Josh Kiger all had two hits. Aaron Smith got the loss going 4.1 innings giving up four hits and three earned run.

Game 2
UNK 4
MWSU 3

After jumping out to a 3-0 lead in game two the Griffons gave up four unanswered runs falling 4-3. The Griffons gave up two runs in the fourth and two in the fifth in the defeat.

The Griffons scored their first run in the first inning when Ryan Degner doubled to left field scoring Dylan Koch from first base. In the third inning the Griffons scored their second run when Trevor LaHonta doubled and scored on a ground out by Degner.

In the fourth the Griffons took a 3-0 lead when Jeremy Monty singled and advanced to third on an error by the left fielder. He later scored on a sacrifice fly by Hunter Weiss giving the Griffons the 3-0 lead.

In the fourth the Lopers cut the Griffons lead to 3-2 on RBI singles by Pacheco and Danny Droll. In the fifth UNK took the lead for good was Drew Butler scored on a Josh Kriger double and then Kriger scored on a single by Pacheco giving UNK the victory.

Both teams had seven hits in the contest as the Griffons left six left on base. LaHonta and Koch each had two hits. Josh Lansangan went three innings giving up two earned runs and two hits while Tyler Sanders picked up the loss going three innings giving up five hits and two earned runs.

The Lopers Pacheco had two of the Loper seven hits while J. Smidt picked up the victory going 2.2 innings in relief. He gave up just one hit while striking out two. The Lopers fall to 18-12 overall and 12-11 in MIAA play.

The two teams will play the final game of the series on Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 12:00 pm in Kearney, Neb.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western softball team split an MIAA doubleheader with the Pittsburg State Gorillas winning game one 3-2 in come from behind fashion before falling 6-2 in game two. The Griffons sit at 20-14 overall and 5-7 in MIAA play and will host the Missouri Southern Lions in a doubleheader on Sunday, March 30 at 1:00 pm in St. Joseph, Mo.

Game 1
MWSU 3
PSU 2

The Griffons scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning coming away with a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburg State Gorillas. This marked the first come from behind victory of the season for the Griffons.

The Griffons started slow as the Gorillas scored the first two runs of the game. In the 2nd inning MacKenzie Rynard blasted her ninth homer of the season giving PSU the 1-0 lead. They tacked on one more in the third inning as Cheslyn Mitchell doubled and then scored on a Tiffany Brown single up the middle giving the Gorillas the 2-0 lead.

The Griffons responded in the third with back-to-back hits from Taylor Anding and Michelle Stevenson leading off the inning. The two advanced on a passed ball and later Anding scored on a wile pitch cutting the lead to 2-1 after three.

The score remained that way until the sixth when Tiffany Gillaspy led off with her seventh homer of the season over the left field fence tying the score at two. Later in the inning Sydney Washington singled to left ans scored on a wild pitch giving the Griffons the 3-2 lead.

Jackie Bishop got the Griffons in the 7th improving to 13-6 on the season. She gave up five hits while striking out nine. The Griffons had eight hits with Washington, Anding and Stevenson all getting two.

The Gorillas had five hits while Kyle Harpst falls to 3-4 giving up eight hits while striking out three.

Game 2
PSU 6
MWSU 2

The nations leading home run hitter Tiffany Brown hurt the Griffons in game two blasting two three-run home runs giving the Gorillas a 6-2 victory. Brown smacked a homer in the first inning and another in the third.

The Griffons responded in the first inning scoring two runs on singles by Gillaspy that scored Bre Fleschner and then Gillaspy scored on an illegal pitch by Pittsburg State pitcher Samantha Grove.

The rest of the game the Griffons could not get a timely hit as they stranded nine runners in the contest.

The Griffons had seven hits with Gillaspy going 3-for-4 and Fleschner going 2-for-4. Janie Smith went all seven giving up five hits and five earned runs while striking out four.

The Gorillas sit at 16-16 overall and 3-7 in MIAA play. The Gorillas had five hits with Brown and Mitchell each getting two. Brown had six RBI. Grove got the victory for the Gorillas giving up seven hits and one earned run while striking out three.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western baseball team used a five run third inning capturing a 6-3 victory in game one of a four game series against the University of Nebraska-Kearney. Ryan Degner led the way with two hits and three RBI while Grant Woods went 5.1 innings giving up five hits and three earned runs. The Griffons improve to 14-12 overall and 10-9 in MIAA play.

Western opened up the third inning getting three straight hits from Cody Childs, Trevor LaHonta and Dylan Koch. Child scored on a throwing error by the third baseman and then Degner blasted his 5th homer of the season giving the Griffons a 4-0 lead. Jake Schrader later scored on a ground out back to the pitcher by Jeremy Monty giving the Griffons the 5-0 lead.

In the fourth the Griffons used three Loper errors and a hit scoring one more giving them the 6-0 lead after three and a half innings of play.

The Lopers finally got to Woods in the 4th when Danny Droll got hit by a pitch and a walk by Anthony Pacheco. With two outs Josh Kiger blasted a three run homer cutting the Griffons lead to 6-3 after four. The rest of the game the Lopers got runners on base but the Griffons used solid pitching by Woods and Tyler Sanders getting the victory.

Sanders picked up his fourth save of the season going 3.2 innings giving up three hits and striking out two. The Griffons left nine runners on base in the game.

The Lopers fall to 17-11 on the season and 11-10 in MIAA play. They had eight hits with Pacheco and Max Ayoub both getting two hits. Adam Peters falls to 3-3 going 2.2 innings giving up six hits and with four strikeouts. Alex Sosa went 6.1 innings giving up one hit and one unearned run.

The two teams will play two seven inning contests on Saturday, March 29 with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 pm in Kearney, Neb.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western women’s tennis team fell in road MIAA action 8-1 on Friday afternoon. The Griffons had some close matches but fall to 0-10 overall and 0-6 in MIAA play. The Griffons return to action on Tuesday, April 1 with a non-conference match against Truman State University in St. Joseph, Mo. Match time is set for 1:00 pm at the Noyes Tennis Courts.

The Griffons played well in doubles picking up one point when Denise Chiao and Lindsay Beger defeated Taylor Smith and Jenny Gerdhart 9-8 (7-1 tiebreaker) giving the Hornets the 2-1 lead after doubles. Meara Smith and Ceara Boldridge fell 8-3 against Tawni Griffin and Nicole Jara while Alyssa Dougan and Kayla Dysart fell 8-2 at No. 3 doubles against Somer Schmidt and Amy Fugit.

In singles action the Hornets won all six positions. The closest match came at No. 4 singles when Boldridge and Gerdhart went to a tiebreaker. Gerdhart defeated Boldridge 6-2, 1-6 and 10-7. Chiao also played well at No. 3 singles but fell to Smith 6-4 and 6-1. Beger fell 8-5 at No. 5 singles against Schmidt while Dougan fell 6-2 and 6-4 against Fugit at No. 6 singles.

Dysart and Smith struggled at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Dysart fell 6-2 and 6-0 against Griffin while Smith fell 6-1 and 6-1 at No. 2 singles against Jara. The Hornets improve to 11-3 overall and 4-1 in MIAA play.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western baseball team had an outstanding day at the plate scoring 23 runs and pounding out 19 hits in 23-1 non-conference victory over William Jewell on Wednesday afternoon. The 23 runs is the second most since 2001 as the Griffons pushed their overall record above .500 sitting at 13-12 on the season. Missouri Western has won five of the last six games including their last three.

All nine of the Griffon starters got a hit in the game with David Chew, Jake Schrader and Cody Childs all getting three. Matt Russell and Chew each had five RBI in the contest. Mark Spreckels got the victory for the Griffons going three innings giving up five hits while striking out four.

The Griffons scored four or more runs in four of the seven innings which included six in the first inning and five in both the second and third innings. It didn’t take long for the Griffons to get on the board as Trevor LaHonta led off the game with a double and later scored on a double by Ryan Degner. Missouri Western continued the scoring getting four more hits and five more runs taking a 6-0 lead after a half an inning.

Spreckels got out of a bases loaded jam in the first and then MWSU put five more runs on the board in the second. LaHonta, Dylan Koch, Chew, Schrader, Hunter Weiss and Cody Childs all had hits in the inning helping the Griffons extend its lead to 11-0.

In the third the Griffons continued the onslaught when Russell blasted a home run helping the Griffons to a 16-0 lead after three. In the fourth MWSU scored just one run which came on back-to-back doubles by Chew and Scharder. Things did not get any better the rest of the way as the Griffons scored six more runs claiming the 22 run victory.

William Jewell falls to 6-12 on the season as they had seven hits in the contest.

The Griffons return to MIAA play this weekend with a road series against the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers. The teams open the series on Friday, March 28 with a single nine inning game with first pitch starting at 3:00 pm.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri Western senior pitcher Jackie Bishop has been named the MIAA/AstroTurf Pitcher of the Week going 3-2 last weekend which included her third no hitter of the season and fourth of her career. It was also her first perfect game of her career defeating St. Cloud State 10-0. This marks the 10th time in her career that she has earned this honor. Three times as a freshman, four times as a sophomore and third time this season.

Bishop had another solid week going 3-2 with a 0.19 ERA with three shutouts and 45 strikeouts in 36.1 innings of work. Bishop picked up victories over #20 Winona State and #5 Augustana. She shut both teams out winning 4-0 and 6-0.

In a double header against Winona she had 18 strikeouts in 14 innings of work. Against Augustana she gave up five hits with five strikeouts. She pitched her third no hitter of the season on Friday in a 10-0 victory over St. Cloud State. She struck out 11 in the contest. The 5-8 senior pitcher is a native of Kirksville, Mo. where she competed at Kirksville High School.

Griffons return to action on Saturday, March 29 when they take on the Pittsburg State Gorillas in an MIAA double header starting at 12 pm at the Griffons Softball Field. The Griffons are 19-13 on the season and are 7-3 in their last 10 games.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western women’s golf team finished in 8th place firing a 359 at the weather shortened Holiday Inn MWSU Invitational which was played at the St. Joseph Country Club.

The winner of the 16 team event was Arkansas Tech firing a 311 which was 11 strokes better than Central Oklahoma who fired a 322.

The Griffons were led by Callie Wilson who finished in a tied for 9th firing an 81 while freshman Madison Romjue finished in a tie for 31st with an 87. Anna Kloeppel and Shelby Stone fired 89 and 95 while Amber Chivington fired a 97.

Megan Jeffery and Rebecka Surtevall of Arkansas Tech tied for first firing a 75. Kelly Welker of Central Missouri finished in 3rd firing a 77.

Missouri Western 352 +64 8th

Wilson,Callie 81 +9 t-9th
Romjue,Madison 87 +15 t-31st
Kloeppel,Anna 89 +17 t-40th
Stone,Shelby 95 +23 t-60th
Chivington,Amber 97 +25 t-71st

The Griffons return to action on March 30-31 playing in the Omaha Invite which is being hosted by Concordia-St. Paul. The event will be played at Tiburon Golf Course.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western baseball team picked up a 6-1 victory against No. 22-ranked Central Oklahoma Sunday afternoon at the Spring Sports Complex.

The win gave the Griffons a 3-1 series victory over the Bronchos. But unlike the past two wins, Missouri Western jumped on the scoreboard first.

Dylon Koch singled to left field and then stole second before Ryan Degner’s double put the Griffons up 1-0. Afterward, David Chew doubled to center field which scored Degner before Jake Scharder’s sac fly put Missouri Western up 3-0 after one.

The Bronchos added a run in the second inning after Dylan Tinkler doubled to center field and scored on Dilon Argo’s single up the middle. The 3-1 ball game stayed until the bottom of the fourth when Missouri Western added three more runs.

Jeremy Monty had a double to start the inning but was out at third base two batters later. The runner was the first out of the inning, but Missouri Western put together two hits after a wild pitch was thrown by Central Oklahoma. The sequence put the Griffons ahead 6-1 after four innings.
Neither team scored after that, giving the Griffons their second straight victory.

The Griffons had nine hits and one error while the Bronchos had six hits. Koch was 2 of 4 with an RBI while Chew was 3 of 4 with 2 RBI. Degner finished the game 2 of 3 with an RBI.

Jake Jones picked up the win and improved to 3-1 on the year. The Bronchos used five pitchers and pitcher Landon Hallam had his first loss of the year and fell to 2-1 on the season.

Missouri Western continues play on Wednesday at William Jewell for one scheduled nine-inning game at 2 p.m.

— MWSU Sports Information —