EDMOND, Okla. – Three unearned runs on two Pittsburg State errors were enough to give the Missouri Western softball team a 4-2 win in the opening round of the MIAA Softball Championships.

Missouri Western got off to a hot start, scoring two runs in the first. Brea Blanton led off the first with a double to center and scored one batter later on Morgan Frost’s 22^nd double of the season. Two batters after Gabi Carter walked, a Sydni Hawkins fly ball to the warning track in right was dropped by the right fielder, allowing Carter to score. The top of the order produced again in the fifth. A fielding error by the Pitt State second baseman on a ground ball hit by Hawkins scored Blanton and Emma Hoffart to give MWSU a 4-0 lead.

The Softball Gods tried to get even with Hawkins in the sixth. A Hawkins error to lead off the top of the sixth put a runner on for Kala Holder who rocked a 1-1 Kaili Hinds pitch over the wall in left center to pull the Gorillas within two.

Hinds started the seventh by forcing a ground out, but walked the next two batters to put the go-ahead run at the plate. Jen Bagley Trotter brought Olivia Goodale in for Hinds to stop the Pitt State rally. Making her first appearance since April 12, Goodale picked up her MWSU single season record-tying fifth save of the year by getting a pop up and securing MWSU’s 17^th consecutive win with a strikeout.

The Griffons advanced to face No. 3 seed Washburn for the second time in six days. The Ichabods defeated No. 6-seeded Emporia State 2-1 on Wednesday. Missouri Western took both games of a doubleheader from Washburn last week, 7-2 and 3-2.

NOTABLES

• The win streak reached 17 games, the longest since Missouri Western’s MIAA-record 32-game win streak in 2009
• Goodale tied Cheri Kempf and Angela Pettitt for the most saves in a season by a Griffon with five
• Hinds won her 12^th consecutive decision, scattering four hits and one earned run over 6 1/3 with six strikeouts and four walks
• Frost needs just three more doubles to break Amy Beverly’s MWSU single-season record of 24
• MWSU scored four runs on just four hits, with two from Blanton, one from Frost and one from Hoffart

— MWSU Athletics —

EDMOND, Okla. – Seven members of the Missouri Western softball team were named All-MIAA as announced Wednesday morning.

Headlining the group for Missouri Western were first team selections Morgan Frost (OF) and Brea Blanton (DP). Named to the second team were Kaili Hinds (P) and Sydni Hawkins (2B). Honorable Mention selections included Gabi Carter (1B), Emma Hoffart (3B) and Cassidy Kelsheimer (C). All seven were first-time All-MIAA selections and the group of honorees included two freshmen in Blanton and Hawkins; two sophomores in Hinds and Hoffart; and three seniors.

FIRST TEAM ALL-MIAA
Morgan Frost, Outfield
Frost finished the regular season leading the team in batting average (.409), hits (63), doubles (21), slugging percentage (.675), on base percentage (.452) and was tied for the team lead with a 1.000 fielding percentage. She ranked fifth in the MIAA in batting average, eighth in slugging percentage, sixth in hits and second in doubles. Her 21 doubles are the second most by a Griffon in a single season, four shy of Missouri Western’s single season record.

Brea Blanton, Designated Player
Blanton didn’t figure into the starting lineup early in the season, but quickly showed she couldn’t be left off the field. The freshman finished second on the team with a .383 batting average, but spent most of the season batting over .400. After being inserted as a starter on Feb. 23, Blanton’s season ending batting average was the lowest it ever dipped, getting at least one hit in all but six of her 35 starts. Blanton finished the regular season with six home runs and 34 RBIs.

SECOND TEAM ALL-MIAA
Kaili Hinds, Pitcher
The most consistent pitcher in the Griffons three-woman rotation, Hinds led the Griffon staff through the regular season with 15 wins, a 2.85 ERA, 11 complete games and 81 strikeouts. Hinds hasn’t lost a decision since March 8, taking 11-straight winning decisions.

Sydni Hawkins, Second Base
After taking over the starting second base position on March 18, Hawkins added 114 points to her batting average, finishing with a .364 average. The freshman had a 15-game hitting streak snapped in the final week of the regular season, but went 2-for-2 with three RBIs in her final regular season game. Hawkins was charged with just two errors on the season and led all MIAA second basemen in batting average, doubles, stolen bases and fielding percentage.

HONORABLE MENTION ALL-MIAA
Gabi Carter, First Base
Carter didn’t miss a start in either of the last two seasons. She moved to first base after playing third last year and finished second on the team with seven home runs.

Emma Hoffart, Third Base
Carter’s move to first made room for Hoffart and third and she took over in her sophomore season, batting .358 with a team-high eight home runs and 40 RBIs. Playing the hot corner for practically every inning this season, Hoffart fielded at a .949 average.

Cassidy Kelsheimer, Catcher
In her only season as a Griffon after transferring from Wichita State, Kelsheimer did not miss a single inning behind the plate, handling the team’s unique four-pitcher staff. The 25 stolen bases against Kelsheimer were the fewest in the MIAA. She throughout the second most would-be base stealers in the association with 14 and her .641 stolen base against average was the second lowest in the MIAA.

The Griffons entered the MIAA Championships as the No. 2 seed, scheduled to play Pittsburg State at 6:30 p.m. in Edmond, Oklahoma.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western enters this week’s MIAA Softball Championships as the hottest team in the MIAA and one of the hottest teams in the nation.

Missouri Western ended the regular season by sweeping eight consecutive MIAA doubleheaders and working its way into second place in the MIAA standings. The Griffons’ 16-game winning streak is the third longest current streak in NCAA Division II softball. The longest current win streak in the nation belongs to Winona State which has won 30-straight games following a 1-0 loss to the Griffons in St. Joseph on Mar. 23.

The rise to a second place finish for the team picked fifth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches’ Poll isn’t about the streak, though; it’s about a team that rebounded from a 1-3 start in conference play. The Griffons were 18-14 and 5-5 in the MIAA when the winning streak began. They ended the regular season 34-14 with a 21-5 MIAA record.

TOTAL TURNAROUND
Lost in the streak is MWSU winning five of seven leading into the eight consecutive doubleheader sweeps. That’s where it began. Still, through the first 32 games of the season, the Griffons posted a .301 batting average with opponents batting .305. The Griffons averaged just over five runs per game and gave up close to five. The pitching staff had posted a 4.32 ERA with a 1.69 WHIP, walking 91 batters through 212 innings and striking out 129. During the winning streak, the Griffons batted .338 and averaged 7.25 runs per game. Opponents batted .229. The staff ERA was 1.73 with a 1.11 WHIP, walking about a third as many batters as Griffon pitchers struck out and only allowing 1.9 runs per game.

THE MATCHUP 
Wednesday, MWSU will play as the No. 2 seed in the MIAA Championships, facing No. 7 seed Pittsburg State. The win streak hit 12 when MWSU swept the Gorillas (13-3, 7-2) in Pittsburg on April 13.

The Griffons enter batting .313 and averaging just over six runs per game with the second most runs scored in the MIAA. MWSU is tied for the most doubles in the conference at 97; and ranks third with 38 home runs. The Griffons also rank second in the MIAA with 38 sacrifice hits, showing the ability to play small ball or go deep. In the circle, MWSU has a 3.44 ERA with four shutouts and a 1.49 WHIP.

Pittsburg State is batting .280 as a team with its opponents hitting .302. The Gorillas average just under five runs per game. The Gorilla pitching staff has a 3.88 ERA with a 1.59 WHIP.

YOUTH MOVEMENT
The Griffons boast seven returning seniors, but three of the team’s top four hitters entering the postseason are in their first or second season of collegiate softball. Freshman Brea Blanton’s .383 average is second best on the team and her six home runs and 34 RBIs both rank third on the team. Another freshman, Sydni Hawkins, enters batting .364, but led the team with a .408 average through the win streak. Hawkins recently had a 15-game hitting streak snapped. Sophomore Emma Hoffart has pushed her average to .358 and leads the team with eight home runs and 40 RBIs. Sophomore pitcher Kaili Hinds leads the team with 15 wins and a 2.85 ERA. She hasn’t lost a decision since March 8 when she fell to 4-3 on the year.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
It’s not just the starters that make MWSU a threat in the postseason. Lonnie Groves and Tamara Hicks started 27 games combined this year and every game last year and give the Griffons experienced bats off the bench. Freshman Marissa Guenther has 10 starts this year filling in for Shelby Uhl during an injury late in the season. An almost unprecedented experiment in the circle has paid off for Jen Bagley Trotter. The Griffons enter the postseason with a three-person rotation and Oliva Goodale pitching exclusively out of the bullpen. Goodale has held hitters to a .160 average, allowing just one run in more than seven innings over the last 16 games. In that same span, Kenzie Hilzer is 4-0 with a 1.35 ERA, a one-hit shutout and a save. Hinds is 7-0 with a 1.64 ERA and two shutouts during the streak with 32 strikeouts to 12 walks. Lexi Kinnaird is 5-0 with a shutout and four walks to 16 strikeouts in her five starts over the last 16 games.

MILESTONE SEASON FOR JEN BAGLEY TROTTER
In her 18^th season as head coach at MWSU, Jen Bagley Trotterbecame the all-time wins leader among MIAA head coaches with her 615^th career victory on March 23 over then No. 22 Winona State. That milestone came after her team scored six unanswered runs to come back and defeat Concordia-St. Paul on Feb. 1 to give Trotter her 600^th victory. The four-time MIAA Coach of the Year enters the week with 632 career victories. She has led MWSU to two MIAA regular season titles and two MIAA postseason championships. The Griffons have now posted 13, 30-win seasons in her tenure and are in position for their 11^th NCAA Central Region appearance under Trotter.

SUCCESS AGAINST OTHER HOT TEAMS
The only two teams with longer current win streaks than MWSU are Winona State and Arkansas Tech. The Griffons posted a win against now No. 7 Winona State earlier this season and suffered an early season loss to Arkansas Tech. MWSU opened the season by splitting a doubleheader with Minnesota State which owns the fifth longest win streak in the country at 13 games. The Griffons also defeated a Concordia-St. Paul that has won 10-straight for Trotter’s 600^th win.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western men’s golfer Patrick McCarthy was named Male Student-Athlete of the Year and Griffon women’s golfer Shi Qing Ong was named Female Student-Athlete of the Year at the 20th Annual Golden Griffon Awards presented by News-Press NOW.

In its second decade, the awards show was hosted at the historic Missouri Theater in St. Joseph. The pair of Griffon golfers claimed top honors among 13 total nominees for male and female student-athlete of the year.

2018-19 GOLDEN GRIFFON AWARD WINNERS
Male Student-Athlete of the Year: Patrick McCarthy
Female Student-Athlete of the Year: Shi Qing Ong
Dr. James J. McMillen Award (highest GPA of graduating senior): Shi Qing Ong
Tom Smith Career Achievement Awards: Madeline Cowell, Brandin Dandridge, Cassidy Menke, Shi Qing Ong, Shellby Taylor
SAAC Coach of the Year: Jen Bagley Trotter
SAAC Newcomer of the Year: Tyrell Carroll
SAAC Volunteer of the Year: Mackenzie O’Neill
SAAC Ring The Bell Award: Soccer’s Win Over No. 1 Central Missouri
SAAC Griffon Games Team of The Year: Soccer
Dr. Robert A. Vartabedian Griff Up Award: Markel Fluker

STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR NOMINEES
Baseball: Anthony Castaneda
Men’s Basketball: Lavon Hightower
Women’s Basketball: Katrina Roenfeldt
Cheer Squad: Katie Hansen
Men’s Cross Country/Track & Field: Hunter Scaggs
Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field: Savannah Simmons
Football: Brandin Dandridge
Men’s Golf: Patrick McCarthy
Women’s Golf: Shi Qing Ong
Soccer: Cassidy Menke
Softball: Morgan Frost
Tennis: Karolina Ström
Volleyball: Audrey Keim

— MWSU Athletics —

INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA announced on Monday afternoon that the Missouri Western women’s golf team was selected to compete in the NCAA Div. II Women’s Golf Championships. Missouri Western will be one of the 12 teams competing in the Central Regional in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

Regional competition will take place across four separate sites with 12 teams and six student-athletes from non-qualifying teams at each site. The top four teams and individuals not with a team from each regional site will advance to the championships in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The Griffons were tabbed eighth in the NCAA’s selections for the Central Regional. This year’s regional will mark the fourth-straight season that the Griffons will have qualified as a team. Missouri Western enters the Central Regional with seven top-five finishes in its 10 tournaments this season, including four in the top-three. The Griffons’ best finish came in their first appearance of the spring when the team took first place at the Warrior Invitational in Las Vegas.

Missouri Western will likely use a lineup featuring Shi Qing Ong, Chong Yong, Anna Bech, Jenna Kosmatka, and Katie Irvin. Ong, Yong, Kosmatka, and Irvin will all bring regional experience for the Griffons, as each competed in last year’s regional in St. Charles, Missouri. Ong, a graduating senior, will have now competed in the regional championship in each of her four seasons at Missouri Western.

The Central Regional Championship in Muskogee, Oklahoma will take place May 6-8.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Due to heavy rain forecasted over the next couple days, the Missouri Western baseball team has canceled its non-conference doubleheader with Illinois-Springfield that was scheduled for Tuesday.

The games were recently added to make up for home games lost earlier in the season, but have now been canceled. The cancelation leaves Missouri Western’s series this weekend against Central Missouri as the only remaining games in the regular season. The Griffons host UCM, May 3-5. Senior Day will come on Saturday, May 5.

J.D. PARTRIDGE FUNDRAISER – MAY 4
A one-time $5 admission fee will be charged on the Saturday, May 4 game against Central Missouri. All proceeds will benefit the J.D. Partridge Memorial Fund. A passionate supporter of Griffon Baseball, Partridge died unexpectedly earlier this year.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western baseball team (19-20, 16-14) was limited to four hits in a 3-0 series finale loss to Southwest Baptist (18-27, 10-20).

SBU starter Kyle Smith needed just 92 pitches to throw a complete game shutout and give his team a 2-1 win in the three-game series. The Bearcats scored one unearned run in the first off Thomas Ruwe with an RBI groundout after a passed ball put two runners in scoring position. SBU added two more off Ruwe in the third on an RBI-single by Jackson Soule that capped a 12-pitch at bat.

Meanwhile, Smith stymied the Griffon offense, needing just 72 pitches to get through the first eight innings. Josh Robinson led off the ninth with a single and got to second on a Casey Danley ground out. Andrew Curry walked to put the winning run at the plate with two down. Dusty Stroup grounded into a force out at third to end the game.

Ruwe went 3 2/3, giving up three runs – two earned – on four hits. He struck out five and walked three. Anthony Castaneda came in out of the bullpen and struck out eight without a walk and scattering two hits over 5 1/3.

The Griffons dropped out of a sixth-place tie in the MIAA standings with Lindenwood to one game back in seventh place. Missouri Western is scheduled to host Illinois-Springfield in a non-conference doubleheader Tuesday at three before hosting MIAA-leading Central Missouri for the final three games of the regular season, May 3-5.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Griffon Softball ended the regular season with its eighth consecutive MIAA doubleheader sweep, taking two games from Emporia State on Senior Day at the Spring Sports Complex.

Missouri Western produced big innings to come back from small early deficits in both games, winning game one 6-2 and game two 14-3 in five innings. The 16-game win streak matched the longest for the program in four seasons.

GAME 1
Missouri Western 6, Emporia State 2

• Emporia State took a 2-1 lead in the second, but MWSU led for good after a four-run third
• Kenzie Hilzer held the Hornets to two runs on four hits and evened her record at 7-7, her third straight win with her last loss coming on April 1
• The Griffons had nine hits and didn’t’ commit an error
• Morgan Frost, Gabi Carter, Emma Hoffart and Taylor Hoelscher each had two hits
• Hoffart drove in three, including a two-run home run in the third
• Frost hit her 21^st double of the season in the first, moving into sole possession of the second most by a Griffon in a single season and four away from tying MWSU’s single season record

GAME 2
Missouri Western 14, Emporia State 3

• The Hornets scored two in the first before MWSU was able to record an out, but didn’t score again until the fifth
• The Griffons scored eight in the bottom of the first to take a commanding lead
• MWSU took advantage of an ESU error that would have been the second out of the first with the next eight Griffs reaching before a double play ended the big inning
• The eight-run first included back-to-back doubles by Hoffart and Sydni Hawkins before a Cassidy Kelsheimer two-run home run
• Kaili Hinds won for the 15^th time this season, holding ESU to two earned runs on six hits with six strikeouts and one walk
• Brea Blanton and Hawkins each drove in three runs
• Hoffart, Hawkins and Kelsheimer had two hits apiece

MIAA CHAMPIONSHIPS BRACKET SET

• The Griffons are the No. 2 seed in next week’s MIAA Championships in Edmond, Oklahoma
• Missouri Western will play No. 7 seed Pittsburg State at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – The conditions were right for a wild one and Griffon Baseball (19-19, 16-13) got one, but came out on the wrong end in a 16-5 loss to Southwest Baptist (17-27, 9-20) on Saturday.

With winds blowing close to 30 miles per hour out to left field, the teams combined for 25 hits, including 13 extra base hits. SBU hit five home runs and four doubles. The Griffons had four doubles and one home run, but it was 14 walks issued by MWSU pitchers that really hurt the Griffons’ chances.

NOTABLES

• The Griffons took a 2-0 lead in the first on a leadoff home run by Casey Danley and an RBI-single by Brooks Day
• The lead was short-lived as SBU scored eight in the top of the second on nine hits
• MWSU cut the SBU lead in half with a bases loaded walk and an RBI-ground out by Conrad McMahon, but the Bearcats kept their feet on the pedal, scoring two more in the third and three in both the eighth and ninth innings
• The 16 runs scored by SBU were the most allowed by Missouri Western this season
• Jacob Purl allowed just one hit and struck out eight through five innings of relief work, but tied an MWSU single game record with eight walks
• Danley had two hits and drove in three with a home run and a double
• Wyatt Meyer was 3-for-4 with two runs scored, doubling twice
• Dusty Stroup went 2-for-4 with a double

UP NEXT
The rubber match between the two teams is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday.

— MWSU Athletics —