The Missouri Western Griffon softball team sits in 8th place in the second Central Regional Poll of the season which was released Wednesday (April 24) afternoon. The Griffons have won 18 of their last 22 games and enter the week with a 32-12 overall record and a 16-6 MIAA record.

The top eight teams earn a regional bid with the first and second seeds hosting four team regionals which will be played the first weekend in May. The #1 seed will host the #8, #4 and #5 seeds while the #2 seed will host the #7, #3 and the #6 seeds. The winners of each regional will take on each other in a best of three series the second weekend in May at the highest seed for a chance to go to the elite eight.

Four other MIAA schools are in the top 10 with Fort Hays State coming in 1st, Central Oklahoma 6th, Emporia State 9th and Truman State 10th.

The Griffons have been to a regional six of the last eight seasons (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012) which includes being the #4 seed in 2012.

The Griffons are set to play their final three doubleheaders of the regular season this week. The Griffons play their final home games tonight against the Lincoln Blue Tigers at 5:00 and 7:00 pm. The Griffons then travel to Oklahoma to take on the Central Oklahoma Bronchos and the Northeastern State RiverHawks. The Griffons take on the Bronchos on Saturday, April 27 in Edmond, Okla. and the RiverHawks on Sunday, April 28 in Tahlequah, Okla. Both doubleheaders are set for noon starts.

CENTRAL REGION
1 Fort Hays State
2 Southeastern Oklahoma
3 Winona State
4 Minnesota State Mankato
5 Augustana (S.D.)
6 Central Oklahoma
7 Minot State
8 Missouri Western State
9 Emporia State
10 Truman State

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western baseball team moved up one spot to No. 5 in the latest Collegiate Baseball Top 30 poll despite losing two of three games over the weekend to Central Missouri.

The Griffons still lead the MIAA with a 25-4 league record and they’re 32-7 overall.

Central Missouri stayed at No. 8 in the Collegiate Baseball poll and they’re the only other MIAA in the Top 30.

Mount Olive remains No. 1 in the nation, followed by Delta State, South Carolina Aiken, Colorado Mesa and Missouri Western.

The Griffons close out the regular season this week as they host Washburn in a doubleheader Wednesday beginning at 2:00 p.m. and they travel to Missouri Southern for a three-game series Saturday and Sunday.

The doubleheader with Washburn will air live on ESPN 1550 AM and 1550espn.com.

The final day of the MIAA Golf Championships Tuesday at Paradise Golf Course in Smithville, Mo., has been washed out because of the wintery mix in the area. The results from the first round yesterday will now become the final rankings as the Griffons finish fifth at the tournament. The Griffons will now wait for their NCAA postseason fate as postseason regional berths are scheduled to be announced later this week. The Griffons came into the MIAA Tournament ranked 11th in the latest Central Regional rankings.

The Missouri Western women’s golf team finished in 5th place at the MIAA Championships which was played at the Posse Golf Course at Paradise Pointe Country Club. The Griffons are two strokes back of Truman State (329) and seven strokes back of Northwest Missouri State (324). The winner of the event is Central Oklahoma with a 301 which is nine strokes better than Northeastern State (310).

Individually, Natalie Bird had a finished firing a 78 putting her in a tie for 7th. She is three strokes back of second and seven strokes behind leader Aly Seng (71) of Central Oklahoma.

Callie Wilson and Casi Webb are in a tie for 19th with 83’s while Anna Kloeppel and Amber Chivington fired 87 and 91 respectively.

The final day of the MIAA Golf Championships Tuesday at Paradise Golf Course in Smithville, Mo., has been washed out because of the wintery mix in the area. The results from the first two rounds Monday will now become the final results as the Griffons finish seventh at the tournament.

The Missouri Western men’s golf team fired total of 608 (305-303) at the MIAA Championships which is being played in at Outlaw Golf Course at Paradise Pointe Country Club. The Griffons bettered their scored by two strokes in round two separating themselves from 8th place Missouri Southern who shot a 612 (308-304). The 608 puts the Griffons in sole possession of 7th place just four strokes back of Northeastern State, 604 (300-304). Central Oklahoma holds a 18 stroke advantage after 36 holes. The Bronchos shot 568 and placed three atop the leader board.

Sitting 18 strokes behind Central Oklahoma is Central Missouri who shot 586 on the day to finish ten over par. Lindenwood, though not eligible for the team championship is currently in third at 591. Washburn is in fourth place just two strokes behind the Lions entering the final day.

Individually, the Griffons are led Weston Apple. He finished in a tie for 9th place with a two round total of 147 (76-71). Kenny Stone  tied for 20th with a 150 (76-74) while Tyler Gast, James O’Brien and Evan McCarthy fired 155 (76-79), 156 (77-79) and 157 (77-80) respectively.

Central Oklahoma’s Dillon Rust won the event shooting a seven under par 137 on a day that saw deteriorating conditions. He was followed by teammates Trevor Stafford and Logan Waresback who finished today’s 36 with a 142 which is two under par. Robby Hughey of Central Missouri used a second round 70 to climb the leader board and finish in fourth place at one under par.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri Western Director of Athletics Kurt McGuffin announced Monday that Cory Frederick has resigned as Griffon Volleyball Coach effective immediately.

Frederick resigns after four seasons at the helm.  He became the sixth head coach in program history in 2009 and led the Griffons to a 37-72 overall record and a 25-51 record in MIAA play.  The Griffons had improved their win total in every season under Frederick going 16-16 a season ago which was the most wins in a season since 2006.  He inherited a program that had won just four games in 2008.

“We’d like to thank Coach Frederick for his time and energy he gave to our volleyball program,” McGuffin said.  “Cory has been a great role model for our student-athletes and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

Frederick came to MWSU after five seasons at Park University as the Head Men’s Volleyball Coach.  During that time, he led the Pirates to four straight NAIA National Tournament Appearances including winning the National Championship in 2008.

Prior to his time at Park, Frederick served as Assistant Coach at MWSU under then Head Coach Cindy Brauck.

He coached nine All-MIAA Selections in his tenure at MWSU including MIAA Freshman of the Year and three time All-MIAA selection Stephanie Hattey and freshman outside hitter Jessie Thorup.

A search for a new head coach will begin immediately.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western women’s golf team sits in 5th place after day one of the MIAA Championships when are being played at the Posse Golf Course at Paradise Pointe Country Club.

The Griffons are two strokes back of Truman State (329) and seven strokes back of Northwest Missouri State (324). The leader of the event is Central Oklahoma with a 301 which is nine strokes better than Northeastern State (310).

Individually, Natalie Bird had a nice round firing a 78 putting her in a tie for 7th. She is three strokes back of second and seven strokes behind leader Aly Seng (71) of Central Oklahoma.

Callie Wilson and Casi Webb are in a tie for 19th with 83’s while Anna Kloeppel and Amber Chivington fired 87 and 91 respectively.

The women will begin round two Tuesday with a shotgun start scheduled for 9 a.m. from Paradise Pointe Golf Complex.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western men’s golf team fired a day one total of 608 (305-303) at the MIAA Championships which is being played in at Outlaw Golf Course at Paradise Pointe Country Club.

The Griffons bettered their scored by two strokes in round two separating themselves from 8th place Missouri Southern who shot a 612 (308-304). The 608 puts the Griffons in sole possession of 7th place just four strokes back of Northeastern State, 604 (300-304). Central Oklahoma holds a 18 stroke advantage after 36 holes. The Bronchos shot 568 and placed three atop the leader board.

Sitting 18 strokes behind Central Oklahoma is Central Missouri who shot 586 on the day to finish ten over par. Lindenwood, though not eligible for the team championship is currently in third at 591. Washburn is in fourth place just two strokes behind the Lions entering the final day.

Individually, Missouri Western is led by Weston Apple. He sits in a tie for 9th place with a two round total of 147 (76-71). Kenny Stone is in a tie for 20th with a 150 (76-74) while Tyler Gast, James O’Brien and Evan McCarthy fired 155 (76-79), 156 (77-79) and 157 (77-80) respectively.

Central Oklahoma’s Dillon Rust led the way shooting a seven under par 137 on a day that saw deteriorating conditions. He was followed by teammates Trevor Stafford and Logan Waresback who finished today’s 36 with a 142 which is two under par. Robby Hughey of Central Missouri used a second round 70 to climb the leader board and finish in fourth place at one under par.

The championship will conclude tomorrow beginning with a 9 a.m. shot gun start at the Paradise Pointe Golf Complex in Smithville, Mo. Complete men’s day two pairings can be found at www.themiaa.com.

— MWSU Sports Information —

No. 8 Central Missouri put together a two-run ninth inning to sneak a win past No. 6 Missouri Western Sunday afternoon at Griffon Spring Sports Complex.

Missouri Western fell behind 4-1 after three innings, but the Griffons dominated the middle of the game with a two-run fourth inning and two-run eighth inning, taking a 5-4 lead.

Spencer Shockley singled to left center and Grant Fink followed with a double in the bottom of the fourth. Jimmy Smelcer hit a single to score Shockley, and on the next bat Jake Schrader doubled to draw within one.

After three scoreless inning, Bubba Dotson tripled to score Michael Schulze and tie the game at four. Kyle Simpson singled up the middle for the go-ahead run, but the Mules got out of the inning down by just one run.

Behind 5-4, UCM had two outs before Mules designated hitter Barrett Noirfalise singled to left field. On the next bat second baseman Jon Cotter doubled to right field to score Noirfalise.

Samuel Domingue, the Mules No. 1 batter singled to shortstop and after the bases were loaded, Logan Hollingsworth, who picked up his first loss of the season, walked Kyle Grieshaber, who had the only home run in the game — a two-run blast in the third inning — to take the 6-5 lead.

Still, the Griffons had a chance to pick up the victory in the bottom of the ninth. Fink singled and Smelcer walked to bring to runners on with no outs. But after Payton Scarbrough fouled a bunt attempt to first baseman John Oropeza, Shawn Egge grounded out to the pitcher to move the runners to second and third base. But Mules pitcher Zach Davis struck out Michael Schulze to end the game.

Central improves to 31-9 and 25-8 in the conference, while Missouri Western still leads the MIAA with a 32-7 record overall and 26-4 in the conference. The Mules also won game two on Saturday, giving the Griffons their first back-to-back losses since opening weekend, when the Griffons dropped two straight to Arkansas Tech.

Several Griffons had multiple hits on the day. Shockley, Simpson and Fink all went 2-for-4. Smelcer was 2-for-3. The Griffons had 11 hits and the Mules finished with nine.

Next up for the Griffons is a doubleheader set for Wednesday night against Washburn. Times are scheduled for 4 and 6 p.m. It will be the final home games of the regular season.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The 6th-ranked Missouri Western baseball team came away with a double header split against 8th-ranked Central Missouri on Saturday afternoon. The Griffons got a walk off hit in game one getting a 3-2 victory before falling 2-1 in the night cap. The Griffons are now 32-6 overall and 25-3 overall.

Game 1
MWSU 3, UCM 2

In a pitchers dual the Missouri Western baseball team got a big hit in the seventh inning by Shawn Egge giving MWSU the 3-2 victory in game one against Central Missouri.

Brandon Simmons stays perfect on the season improving to 9-0 on the season. He went all seven innings giving up four hits and two earned runs. He also struck out three Mules. With the victory he broke the MIAA record for wins in a career. He has 33 victories breaking the old record of 32 which was held by Josh Reynolds of Central Missouri from 1998-2000.

The Mules got on the board in the fourth inning when Trevor Jones led off with a double down the right field line and later scored on a bunt by Brad Wilson.

The Griffons responded in the bottom of the inning with Kyle Simpson leading off with a single up the middle. He scored on a Nate Ramler triple to center field and then Ramler gave the Griffons the lead on a ground out by Spencer Shockley.

The score remained 2-1 until the top of the 7th when Brad Wilson singled and then Kevin Gratza double down the right field line tying the score at two.

In the bottom of the 7th Grant Fink led off with a single up the middle and then Jimmy Smelcer got on by a hit by pitch. The Mules brought in Andrew Urban who balked over pinch runner Dylan Koch and Smelcer. The Mules then intentionally walked pinch hitter Jeremy Monty which loaded the bases.

Shawn Egge took a 2-0 pitch from Urban to left field scoring Koch giving MWSU the 3-2 victory. The Griffons had five hits with Fink going 2-for-3.

Travis Higgs got his first loss of the season going six innings giving up four hits and three earned runs. He falls to 5-1 on the season. The Mules had four hits in the contest.

Game 2
UCM 2, MWSU 1

Despite getting just three hits in the second game the Griffons had a chance to tie or win the game in the bottom of the ninth. The Griffons had runners on first and second with two outs but a Shockley slow roller to third base ended any threat.

The Mules Kurtis Schuyler had the Griffon bats off track through 7.1 innings. He gave up just one hit through eight. Schulyer improved to 4-3 overall going 8.1 innings giving up two hits and one unearned runs. He also had six strikeouts in the game.

The Griffons Ethan Ward pitched a solid game going six innings giving up eight hits and two earned runs. He falls to 2-3 on the season.

The Mules got a run in the sixth and seventh innings giving them the 2-0 lead after seven.

In the ninth Michael Schulze got a double and scored Simpson’s sac fly. Nate Ramler singled through the left side moving Bubba Dotson to second but Shockley’s ground-out ended the game.

UCM improves to 30-9 overall and 24-8 in MIAA play. They ahd 10 hits with Samuel Domingue going 3-for-4.

The two teams wrap up the series on Sunday, April 21 with a single nine inning game starting at 12:00 pm. The Griffons will honor 16 seniors before the game for senior day.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western softball team split a pair of games on Saturday with Emporia State. The Griffons won game one 3-1 before falling in game two 4-0. Jackie Bishop picked up both the win and the loss and now sits at 18-5 on the season. The Griffons are now 32-12 on the season and 16-6 in MIAA play.

Game 1
MWSU 3, ESU 1

The Griffons got another outstanding performance from Jackie Bishop in the circle as she went all seven innings giving up just four hist and one earned run while striking out nine in the 3-1 victory. She improves to 18-4 with the victory.

The Griffons got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning getting three hits. Taylor Anding got the bit hit scoring Michelle Stevenson from second giving the Griffons the 1-0 lead after two.

The Hornets tied the game in the fourth as when Taylor Zordel led off the inning getting hit by a pitch and scored on a Tricia Vogel double to center field tying the game at one.

The Griffons responded in the bottom of the fourth getting back-to-back two out hits by Maegan Roemmich and Kendall Sorensen giving MWSU the 2-1 lead after four.

In the sixth the Hornets loaded the bases with one out but Bishop got Stephanie Goodwin to strike out and Cacy Williams to foul out to catcher ending the threat.

Michelle Stevenson gave MWSU an insurance run in the bpottom of the 6th with her third homer of the season.

The Griffnos had seven hits with Stevenson and Roemmich both going 2-for-3. Stevenson had two runs scored and one RBI.

Lauren Sharp went six innings falling to 7-7 on the season. She gave up seven hits and two earned runs. The Hornets had four hits with Vogel going 1-for-2 with one RBI.

Game 2
ESU 4, MWSU 0

The Hornets used a three run fourth inning helping them to a 4-0 victory over the Griffons in game two of the double header.

The teams played the first three innings to a 0-0 tie. In the fourth the Hornets scored three runs on five hits. The Hornets got a two out single to center field from Cacy Williams which scored two. The Hornets tacked on more on before the inning was over taking a 3-0 lead after four.

In the fourth they scored another run off Volgels double to right field. Karley  Schmelzer picked up the victory scattering just four Griffon hits. She had one strike out improving to 21-6 on the season.

The Hornets are 28-13 overall and 15-7 in MIAA play. They had 11 hits with Zordel, Vogel and Williams all getting two hits.

The Griffons had just four hits with Lorbert going 2-for-3. Bishop falls to 18-5 going 4.1 innings giving up eight hits and three earned runs. Janie Smith pitched 2.2 innings giving up three hits while striking out two.

The Griffons honored five senior athletes on Sunday as they played in their final weekend games at the Griffon Softball Field. They are Emily Moe, Kendall Sorensen, Maegan Roemmich, Sarah Elliott and Keri Lorbert.

The Griffons return to action on Wednesday, April 24 when they host the Lincoln Blue Tigers in a double header. Game time is set for 5:00 pm from the MWSU Softball Field.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western softball team belted six home runs on their way to a doubleheader sweep of Washburn by scores of 10-0 and 14-5. Both games were ended in the fifth due to the run rule. Maegan Roemmich went 5-for-5 in the two games with two home runs, 7 RBI and 5 runs scored. The Griffons improve to 31-11 overall and 15-5 in MIAA play.

Game 1
MWSU 10, WU 0 (5 innings)

All nine of the Griffon starters got a hit while Jackie Bishop pitched a three hit shutout helping the Griffons to a 10-0 five inning victory. Bishop struckout ten batters in her five innings of work improving to 17-4 with the victory.

The Griffon offense got going in the second inning scoring two runs and getting three hits with two outs. Kat Steponovich got a two RBI single through the right side opening up the scoring for the Griffons.

In the third the Griffon bats continued to be on fire scoring four runs on four hits. Maegan Roemmich hit her 7th homer of the season while Sorensen followed that up with her 3rd giving MWSU a 6-0 lead after three innings.

In the fourth the Griffons scored four more runs on four hits. Sarah Elliott led of with a single and then Bre Fleschner walked and scored on a Tiffany Gillaspy double to right center. Roemmich and Sorensen hit RBI singles later in the inning giving MWSU the 10-0 victory.

The Griffons had 12 hits with Roemmich going 3-for-3 with four RBI and three runs scored. Sorensen had two hits and two RBI for MWSU.

The Lady Blues had three hits while Lauren Thimmesch falls to 7-13 on the season going four innings. She gave up 12 hits and 10 earned runs.

Game 2
MWSU 14, WU 5 (5 innings)

The Griffons put togethern another solid effort in game two hitting four home runs and using a 10 run third inning coming away with a 14-5 victory in five innings.

The Griffons jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first two innings. Sarah Elliott led off with a homer in the first and then second back-to-back doulbes by Fleschner and Gillaspy gave MWSU the 3-0 lead after two.

In the third inning the Lady Blues scored five runs on five hits taking a 5-3 lead. MWSU responded nicely getting 8 hits and 10 runs in the third to take a 13-5 lead afte three. Roemmich and Sorensen both homered for the second time on the day while Keri Lorbert hit her 11th homer of the season later in the inning. Lorbert has 36 home runs in her career and is just one away from tying Amy Beverly for the career record.

The Griffons tacked on one more in the 4th and Emily Moe pitched a scoreless 5th inning while striking out the final batter giving the Griffons the victory.

Janie Smith picked up the victory going four innings giving up six hits and three earned runs. She improves to 14-5 with the victory. Moe went one inning with one strikeout in releif.

The Griffons had 15 hits with six different playersgetting two. Elliott scored three runs while Gillaspy and Roemmich had thee RBI.

The Lady Blues fall to 9-29 and 5-15 with the loss. Marina Quimby went four innings giving up 15 hits and 14 earned runs. Six differnt players had hits in the game for the Lady Blues.

The Griffons return to action on Saturday, April 20 with a doubleheader against Emporia State University. Game time is set for 12:00 pm. The Griffons will honor five seniors after the games tomorrow. They are Emily Moe, Kendall Sorensen, Maegan Roemmich, Keri Lorbert and Sarah Elliott.

— MWSU Sports Information —