The Missouri Western baseball team still sits 3rd in the third Central Region poll which was released Wednesday, May 8. The Grriffons won their first ever MIAA Regular Season Title this season and will compete in the final four of the MIAA Tournament in Kansas City, Kan. this weekend. MWSU is 37-8 overall.

The top six teams earn a regional bid with the highest seed hosting a double elimination tournament. Missouri Western has made just one NCAA Regional in history which was back in 2006.

The only other MIAA school in the top eight is the University of Central Missouri who sits second in the region.

The Griffons open up the final four double elimination tournament on Thursday, May 9 against the Central Oklahoma Bronchos. Game time is set for 11:00 am from Community America Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan.

CENTRAL REGION STANDINGS
1 Minnesota State-Mankato
2 Central Missouri
3 Missouri Western State
4 Southern Arkansas
5 St. Cloud State
6 Southwestern Oklahoma State
7 Arkansas Tech
8 Augustana (SD)

— Northwest Sports Information —

Missouri Western interim head volleyball coach Marian Carbin announces the signing of two more student-athletes for the 2013 season. Junior college transfer Erica Rottinghaus and international player Veronica Goeanova will join Kelsey Olion and Sara Vitito who signed last November to the squad.

“We are very excited about both of the young ladies that we’ve added for this coming fall,” commented coach Carbin. “In addition to the two players that we signed back in November, these two will certainly be important additions to our roster.”

Erica Rottinghaus is a 5-10 outside hitter from Seneca, Kan. and transfers to Missouri Western from Highland Community College. She played her high school volleyball at Nemaha Valley and was coached by Betty Peterson. At Highland Rottinghaus was an KJCCC All-Conference performer both her freshman and sophomore seasons. As a sophomore she was named 1st Team All-Region VI and as a freshman she was a 2nd Team All-Region VI selection. As a sophomore she had 288 kills, 169 digs and 57 blocks. In high school she was a three sport athlete. She was a All-State performer her senior season and a All-Big 7 League selection as a junior and senior. She is also a good student being named to the KJCCC All-Academic team and a Foundation Scholar at Highland. She plans on majoring in graphic design at MWSU.

“Erica is a talented player that will come to us with two years of experience as an outside hitter,” stated Carbin. “She has a great vertical that contributes to her game offensively and as a blocker. She is also a very steady player that doesn’t get rattled in high pressure situations. We look for her to compete immediately with our returning players at the outside hitter position.”

Veronika Goranova is a 5-9 freshman outside hitter from Vratsa, Bulgaria attended school in Sofia. During her time she helped her team become a three time champion of Sofia and a two time champion of Bulgaria. She won awards for best your talent and was twice named MVP of her team. She was also a five time captain. She planns on majoring in digital animation at MWSU.

“Veronika also brings a lot of experience due to her international background,” commented Carbin. “The training she has received in Bulgaria has made her a very savvy, smart player with a variety of shots offensively and an ability to read the opponent’s hitters when she plays defense. She is our second international player, and we think she will add to the healthy competition at the outside hitter position.”

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri Western men’s basketball coach Brett Weiberg has announced that men’s basketball will be hosting a boys basketball camp for grades 3rd-7th. The camp will start on Monday, July 8th and conclude Thursday, July 11th. The camp will be held in the MWSU Fieldhouse on the campus of Missouri Western State University.

The camp has a morning and afternoon session. The morning session will cost $95.00 and includes a t-shirt. The morning session will run from 8:30 am – 12:00 pm. From 8:30 am – 10:30 am the camp will focus on drills & fundamentals and then from 11:15 am – 12:00 pm there will be team practices and games.

The afternoon session costs $75.00 and in includes a t-shirt. The camp will run from 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm with shooting and fundamentals being taught from 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm. From 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm the camp will focus on offense off screens and dribble and from 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm there will be competitvie shooting drills.

If you would like to attended both sessions the cost is $160. If you are a MWSU employee then you get a discount of $10.

Please contact coach Weibert with questions at 816-271-4486 .

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri Western senior women’s golfer Natalie Bird finished in 23rd place at the 2013 NCAA Central Women’s Golf Regional firing a three day total of 249 (82-82-85).

Bird was just one stroke back of 21st and two strokes back of 16th. The winner of the event was Rebecka Surtevall of Arkansas Tech firing a three round 231 (81-73-77).

Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State of the MIAA both advanced to the NCAA National Women’s Golf Championships by finishing first and third respectively at the Central Super Regional.

Central Oklahoma led the way shooting a 951, finishing 13 strokes ahead of Augustana who finished second at the meet. Northeastern State shot a 975 to finish in third and earn the second spot into the National Championship. Aly Seng of Central Oklahoma finished second overall and was followed by teammate Erica Bensch. Northeastern State’s top finisher was McCandren Lewis who finished in a tie for sixth place. Taylor Neidy of Central Oklahoma came in tenth overall with a 240.

Northwest Missouri’s Steph Charteris and Nebraska-Kearney’s Ana Summers finished in a tie for 28th place.
Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State advance to play in the National Championship on May 15-18, at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri Western senior women’s golfer Natalie Bird moved up four spots to a tie for 13th after round two of the NCAA Central Regional which is being played at the St. Joseph Country Club in St. Joseph, Mo. Bird fired a round of 82 which gives her a two day total of 164 (82-82). She is just one stroke back of 10th and two strokes back of 8th.

The leaders of the event are Rebecka Surtevall (81-73) of Arkansas Tech and Marisa Toivonen of Augustana (S.D) (79-75) both shooting two day totals of 154. They lead Aly Seng of Central Oklahoma who shot a 155 (77-78).

The overall team leader is Central Oklahoma with a 641 (323-318) which is three strokes better than Augustana (S.D.) who fired a 644 (317-327).

Natalie Bird will play her final round of the tournament tomorrow morning. She will tee off at 8:40 am.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western baseball team won a come from behind slug fest against the Fort Hays State Tigers. The Griffons scored seven unanswered runs to win 12-10 and advance in the MIAA Tournament. The Griffons are now 37-8 on the season and have tied a school record for most wins in a season which has been held since 1974.

The Griffons got on the board in the first when Michael Schulze led off with a double to left field and later scored on a Nate Ramler double to left center. The Griffons padded their lead in the second when Bubba Dotson blasted a two run homer giving MWSU the 3-0 lead. The homer was the second in two days and 12th of the season.

In the third inning the Tigers got three hits and three runs tying the score at three. Kelton Rule got the big single which scored two Tigers.

The Griffons stayed calm and responded like they have all season. Ramler led off with a double and scored on a Spencer Shockley single and then Jake Schrader doubled scoring Shockley giving the Griffons a 5-3 lead after three innings of play.

The Tigers answered scoring the next seven runs which included a six run 6th inning. Ryan Busboom’s grand slam gave Fort Hays State a 10-5 lead after five and a half innings of play.

In the bottom of the sixth the Griffons responded once again scoring five runs on five hits. With one out in the inning Shawn Egge and Schulze got back-to-back singles and then Dotson walked loading the bases. RBI hits by Kyle Simpson, Grant Fink and Shockley tied the score at 10 after six innings of play.

The score remained tied until the bottom of the ninth when Shockley struck again with a two RBI single giving the Griffons the 12-10 lead. Mason Queen closed it out in the 9th improving to 2-0 on the season. He went 3.1 innings giving up no hits and striking out three.

Schulzed went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and with his three hits he has tied the single season record for hits with 81. Simpson and Shockley also had three hits in the game. Shockley had five RBI. All nine Griffons had a hit in the contest as they finished with 17 on the day.

The Tigers end their season 23-22 overall. FHSU had eight hist with Jordan Miller going 2-for-3. Jesse Hart got the loss going 2.1 innings. He gave up three hits and two earned runs. He falls to 3-4 with the loss.

The Griffons will play on Thursday against Central Oklahoma in a four team double elimination tournament at Community America Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. and can be heard on ESPN 1550 and 1550espn.com.  The other two teams in the tournament are Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern.

— MWSU Sports Information —

In her first ever postseason event Missouri Western women’s golfer Natalie Bird sits in a tie for 17th firing an 82 on day one of the NCAA Central Regional being played at the St. Joseph Country Club. Bird sits eight strokes back of the leader Allie Ostrander of Augustana College (S.D.).

Bird is just five strokes back of second, four of third and three from fifth. There are 48 golfers in the field.

The top team in the field is Augustana (S.D.) firing a day one total of 317 which is five strokes ahead of Northeastern State (322) and six strokes ahead of Central Oklahoma (323).

Bird will begin the second round of the three round tournament at 8:30 am tomorrow morning. She will play with Ana Summers of Nebraska-Kearney.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western baseball team defeated Fort Hays State Saturday afternoon in the first game of the first round of the MIAA Tournament 9-1 at the Griffon Spring Sports Complex. Western takes a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-three first round series. Missouri Western is now 36-8 and the Tigers sit at 23-21.

Brandon Simmons pitched seven scoreless innings as he is now 10-0 on the season. Simmons was in trouble twice with two bases-loaded jams in the bottoms of innings No. 3 and 4, but the senior got out of the mess after he stuck out Tigers’ top hitter Clayton Garland looking and forced a ground out in the third inning.

The next time, Simmons recorded two straight strike outs.

Michael Schulze scored a run in the first inning after he singled to left field. Grant Fink scored Schulze shortly later to make it 1-0. The Griffons continued to add runs in the fourth and seventh innings to mark the score 6-0 before Hays got on the board in the top of the eighth.

Bubba Dotson cracked a two-run homer over the center-field fence to give the Griffons a 9-1 run lead in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Game two of the series is Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. and you can listen to the game on ESPN 1550 AM.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western softball team got knocked out the MIAA Tournament going 1-2 on day two of the double elimination tournament. The Griffons lost the first game of the day 3-0 against 15th ranked Fort Hays State before rebounding with a 7-4 victory over Northeastern State University. The Griffons fell in a back and forth battle in the night cap against the Emporia State Hornets by a score of 7-6. The Griffons are 38-16 on the aseon.

Game 1
#15 FHSU 3, MWSU 0

Jackie Bishop had a no hitter going into the top of the 7th inning but a bloop single to right field by Courtney Dobson and a home run by Amanda Vaupel game the Tigers the 3-0 victory.

Both teams got two hits in the game with the Griffons opening up the game with a single by Sara Elliott. Elliott would be stranded at third. The Griffons stranded a lead off hit by pitch in the sixth.

Bishop falls to 21-7 going all seven innings. She gave up two hits while striking out six. Kendall Sorensen was the only other Griffon to get a hit in the game.

Maddie Holub improved to 26-1 going all seven giving up two hits while striking out 10.

Game 2
Missouri Western 7, Northeastern State 4

The Griffons jumped out to a 4-0 lead and preserved the win against the RiverHawks in a win-or-go-home game.

Scoreless through three innnigs, Bre Fleschner doubled to right center before Maegan Roemmich singled in Fleschner breaking up the 0-0 tie. Singles from  Keri Lorbert, Kendall Sorensen and Taylor Anding as well as an error by the RiverHawks provided the Griffons with three more runs to end the top of the fourth.

Northeastern State came back, however. The RiverHawks scored three runs in the bottom of the inning to come back and make the score 4-3.
Sorensen came back and with a single to left field which scored Lorbert and Sarah Elliott, who each singled in the top of the sixth.

Sorensen went 3-for-4 with three RBI to send the Griffons to the next round with the 7-4 win. Roemmich finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and Lorbert went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Janie Smith picked up her 17th win of the season.

Game 3
Emporia State 7, Missouri Western 6

After securing a 4-0 lead, the Griffons looked to be heading to the third-place matchup in Day Three of the MIAA Tournament. But the Hornets scored seven runs in the fifth inning, and after Maegan Roemmich blasted a two-run bomb pulling the Griffons within one, the Hornets took the game 7-6.

Roemmich finished the game 4-for-4 with three RBI to help the Griffons. Kendall Sorensen scored the first runner in the bottom of the first singling to center field scoring Roemmich from second base.

In the bottom of the third, Keri Lorbert homered over the right-field fence to score two more runs as the Griffons took a 3-0 advantage. Roemmich hit a single scoring Sarah Elliott in the next inning, but in the top of the fifth and behind 4-0, the Hornets came back.

Emporia sent two balls over the fence and used three unearned runs to take a 7-4 advantage. Roemmich remained steady and homered to left center to score Elliott and herself to make it 7-6, but the Griffons didn’t complete the comeback.

Taylor Anding and Sorensen finished the game with two hits in the contest.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western softball team used the long ball and a complete game from Jackie Bishop picking a 5-3 victory over the Truman State Bulldogs. The Griffons will take on the 15th ranked Fort Hays State Tigers on Saturday, May 4 at 11:00 am.

Bre Fleschner hit her 5th homer of the season in the first inning giving the Griffons a 1-0 lead. The Griffons took a 2-0 in the third irinning when Fleschner singled and scored on a Keri Lorbert single to left field.

The Bulldogs cut the Griffon lead to 2-1 in the fourth when Kelsey Bollman homered over the center field fence. The Bulldogs tied the score in the fifth on a Bollman fielder choice which scored Corey Niblett.  In the 5th Maegan Roemmich hit her 10th homer of the season giving the Griffons a 4-2.

The Bulldogs cut the lead to one in the top of the 6th but once again MWSU answered when Kendall Sorenson scored an unearned run padding the Griffon lead.

Jackie Bishop improved to 21-6 overall  while Roemmich went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a runs scored. Bishop went all seven innings giving up seven hits while striking out seven.

— MWSU Sports Information —