KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The MIAA released the 2018-19 All-MIAA Women’s Golf Awards on Sunday afternoon, naming Shi Qing Ong the MIAA Women’s Golfer of the Year. Ong and Chong Yong were also tabbed to the All-MIAA teams.

Ong receives her second-consecutive MIAA Golfer of the Year Award after a remarkable senior season. Her spring season included a historic stretch of four-consecutive event wins, claiming the top spot at the Warrior Invitational, Holiday Inn Express Classic, Jennies Golf Invitational, and HSU Spring Invite. Competitors were unable to keep up with Ong during the streak, as she won three of those events by a convincing five or more strokes.

Ong’s final season at Missouri Western also included three-straight MIAA Women’s Golfer of the Week awards. She even took second place in two of the four tournaments in which she did not win. With an average round score of 74, Ong’s single-round scores were as low as 67 (career-low), 69, and 70. She wraps up her historic four-year career with 13 wins in 43 appearances and was named First Team All-MIAA in each of her seasons at Missouri Western.

Chong Yong received Second Team All-MIAA honors after her junior season. Yong notched three top-10 finishes, including tying for fourth place at the Warrior Invitational in Las Vegas to open up the spring season. Yong still placed inside the top-25 in three of her other eight tournament appearances.

She finished the regular season with an average round score of below 79. Her season-low round came at the Griffons’ last event when she scored a 73 at the Central Region Preview on her way to finish in a tie for ninth place.

Yong has now been named All-MIAA in each of her three seasons at Missouri Western.

Missouri Western takes part in the MIAA Women’s Golf Championships April 23-25 at Firekeeper Golf Course in Mayetta, Kansas.

2018-19 All-MIAA Women’s Golf Awards and Teams 
Player of the Year: Shi Qing Ong – Missouri Western
Freshman of the Year: Rosie Klauser – Central Missouri
Coach of the Year: Chris Port – Central Missouri

First-Team All-MIAA
Olivia Sobaski – Central Missouri
Sydney Roberts – Central Oklahoma
Hannah Perkins – Fort Hays State
Shi Qing Ong – Missouri Western
Ebba Moberg – Northeastern State
Aitana Hernandez – Northeastern State
Reflects Tie In Voting

Second-Team All-MIAA
Rosie Klausner – Central Missouri
Madison O’Dell – Central Oklahoma
Josefina Haupt – Lindenwood
Chong Yong – Missouri Western
Nia Station – Nebraska Kearney
Lexi Armon – Northeastern State
Reflects Tie In Voting

All-MIAA Honorable Mention
Central Oklahoma – Makena Mucciaccio, Faith Stewart
Lindenwood – Natalie Long, Dakota Limkemann
Nebraska Kearney – Danielle Dickerson
Northeastern State – Kelsey Lumpkin
Northwest Missouri – Morgan Thiele

— MWSU Athletics —

PITTSBURG, Kan. – Free passes led directly or indirectly to six Pittsburg State (22-18, 14-12) runs in a 7-6 loss for the Missouri Western baseball team (18-16, 15-11) on Friday.

Four of the Gorillas’ seven runs were earned and the home team’s first two runs both walked to get on base. The loss snapped a string of four-straight wins for Missouri Western.

NOTABLES

• Andrew Curry put the Griffs up 2-0 with a two-run home run in the first inning
• Two walks and a single that scored both runners tied the game for Pitt State in the home half of the first
• The Griffs went up 4-2 in the third on a two-RBI single from Wyatt Meyer
• A sacrifice fly in the fifth gave Pitt State its third run, but would have been the third out were it not for an error earlier in the inning
• Another error and a passed ball aided a four-run eighth inning for Pittsburg State that gave the Gorillas their first lead and enough cushion to snap MWSU’s win streak
• Missouri Western was charged with four errors in the game
• Meyer had three hits and two RBIs
• Curry had a pair of hits and two RBIs

UP NEXT

• The rubber match in the series comes at noon on Saturday in Pittsburg.

— MWSU Athletics —

PITTSBURG, Kan. – Situational hitting in the late innings and a shutdown performance on the mound helped the Missouri Western baseball team (18-15, 15-10) to its fourth-straight win, 7-3 over Pittsburg State (21-18, 13-12) Thursday night.

The Griffons scored five runs over the final three frames to help get Thomas Ruwe a win in his second career start. Ruwe improved on his impressive first start last week against Northwest Missouri, holding Pittsburg State to one hit over eight innings with eight strikeouts and just two walks.

During the team’s four-game win streak, the Griffons have scored 24 runs in the sixth inning or later.

NOTABLES

• The Gorillas took a 2-0 lead on a home run off Ruwe in the second. The only allowed one more base runner over his next six innings.
• A 2-2 game through six innings, the Griffons scored five over the final three frames with a Brooks Day home run in the seventh, two runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth
• Chas Verduzco got a two-out rally started in the ninth with a two-out single up the middle
• The Griffons sent four more to the plate in the ninth, getting RBI singles from Casey Danley and Dusty Stroup
• Andrew Curry shot a ball to right with one out in the eight to get Fahd Shakeel home from third
• Brooks Day laid down a bunt one batter later to get Stroup home
• Levi Abrahamson gave up a run on two hits and a walk in the ninth, but struck out the other three batters he faced to preserve the win for Ruwe
• Missouri Western out-hit Pitt State 11-3 and didn’t commit an error
• The Griffons stole three bases in the game

UP NEXT
Game two of the series is scheduled for 2 p.m., Friday in Pittsburg.

— MWSU Athletics —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The MIAA announced the bracket for the MIAA Tennis Championships in Oklahoma City next weekend. Missouri Western (11-12, 2-7 MIAA) landed in the eighth spot and will face off against the top-seeded Washburn Ichabods in the opening quarterfinal round, who are also ranked fifth in the country.

The MIAA Tennis Championships feature an eight-team single-elimination tournament. The winners of the quarterfinals matches on Friday will advance Saturday’s semifinals, with those winners again advancing to the championship match on Sunday.

Missouri Western heads to Oklahoma City having won three of its last five duals matches. The Griffons will look do what only one team has accomplished against the Ichabods this season. The only team to defeat Washburn this season was Air Force, who has gone 21-1 at the NCAA Div. I level.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Griffon Softball checked in at No. 6 in the first edition of the NCAA Division II Central Region Rankings.

Missouri Western owns the second longest win streak in the nation at 12 games and also received a vote in this week’s NFCA Coaches Top-25 poll. The Griffons are 30-14 overall and sit alone in second place in the MIAA with a 17-5 record. The Griffons have two regular series remaining, hosting Washburn and Emporia State next weekend. Washburn currently is 13-5 in MIAA play in third place in the standings.

During the team’s 12-game win streak – its longest since 2015 – the Griffons hit .336 with 25 doubles and eight home runs. The pitching staff has drastically improved over the last six series, going 12-0 and posting a 1.17 ERA. Griffon pitchers posted a 1.14 WHIP and held opposing batters to a .231 average during the streak.

There weren’t many strangers in the Central Region Rankings. The Griffons have played four of the five teams ranked ahead of them and three of the four behind them already this season. Overall, MWSU is 4-5 against teams ranked in the top-10 of the first Central Region Rankings.

NCAA DIVISION II CENTRAL REGION RANKINGS (records as of April 14, 2019)

The top-eight teams in the final regional rankings advance to the NCAA Division II Softball Championships .The top two seeds will host three other teams each. Missouri Western is looking for its first NCAA postseason appearance since 2017 and 11^th since 2005.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After a dominating three-round performance at the SBU Invitational this week, the MIAA announced on Tuesday that Patrick McCarthy was named Golfer of the Week. Along with winning the tournament, McCarthy also led Missouri Western to a second-place finish at the event.

McCarthy earned his first tournament win of the season with a convincing four-stroke victory in Bolivar. He finished the event with a combined three-round score of 215 (-1). The junior entered Tuesday’s final round in a tie for second, but separated himself from the field with a score of 70 (-2) in the third round.

Out of the 243 total rounds among the 81 competing golfers, there were only four individual rounds at 70 or below. Two of those four scores of 70 or below belonged to McCarthy, as he also shot a 70 in the first round.

McCarthy and the Griffons will compete for a conference title at the MIAA Championship in Money Island, Oklahoma on April 24-26.

— MWSU Athletics —

BOLIVAR, Mo. – The Missouri Western men’s golf squad placed second at the SBU Invitational on Tuesday, the team’s last tournament before the MIAA Championship. Patrick McCarthy earned his first tournament win of the season, dominating the field with a three-round score of 215 (-1).

The Griffons finished in a tie for second place among the 16 competing teams, shooting a total score of 896. The Griffons were consistent throughout the tournament, scoring rounds of 297, 300, and 299. Their second-place finish also ties their best finish of the season, as the Griffons also tied for second at the Holiday Inn Express Classic in St. Joseph.

McCarthy earns the tournament win after entering Tuesday’s final round tied for second. McCarthy shot a 70 (-2) in the third round to win the event by a convincing four strokes. Out of the 243 total rounds among the 81 competing golfers, there were only four rounds at 70 or below. Two of those four scores of 70 or below belonged to McCarthy, as he also shot a 70 in the first round.

Cole Roberts had his best round of the SBU Invitational in Tuesday’s final round, shooting a 73 (+1) to bring his three-round total to 226. Roberts finished tied for 14th after having entered the final round in a tie for 25th.

Tom Buffington tied for 27th with a score of 229, shooting a 77 (+5) in the third round. His best round came in the second when he parred the course with a 72 (E).

Lucas Horseman finished in the upper half of the leaderboard as well, tying for 29th with a score of 230. Jake Misesch ended the event with a score of 235 for the Griffons.

Missouri Western will now return to St. Joseph to prepare for the MIAA Championship in Money Island, Oklahoma on April 24.

— MWSU Athletics —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Western softball team has the week off the field, but that doesn’t mean the accolades can’t roll in. Senior left fielder Morgan Frost was named MIAA Hitter of the Week for the second time this season after pacing a red-hot MWSU offensive attack to a 6-0 record last week.

The Griffons hit 12-straight wins behind Frost batting .500 and slugging .769 through sweeps of Southwest Baptist, Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State. Frost went 13-for-26 at the plate with six extra base hits, five of them doubles. She drove in eight runs and scored six.

As a team, MWSU batted .357 through the last six games while holding opponents to a .238 average. The Griffons outscored their three opponents last week 44-14.

— MWSU Athletics —

BOLIVAR, Mo. – The Missouri Western men’s golf team put together one of its best two-round performances of the season on Monday, positioning itself in second place at the SBU Invitational. The Griffons had solid performances across their lineup, but were led by Patrick McCarthy, who sits just one stroke back of the individual leader after day one.

Missouri Western’s consistency throughout the lineup led to a two-round total of 597. Out of the 16 teams competing, the Griffons were one of just two teams with their bottom scorer still inside the top-40. After their solid performance in the first two rounds, the Griffons trail Central Missouri by five strokes heading into Tuesday.

McCarthy is currently tied for second after his combined score of 145 (+1) on Monday. He had the best single-round score of all 81 golfers, shooting a 70 (-2) in the opening round. McCarthy followed his stellar first round with a 75 (+3) in the second round. He is now slotted just one stroke back of Central Missouri’s Cole Dillon for the lead.

Lucas Horseman shot a 151 over the first two rounds. He opened the tournament with a 76 (+4) in the first round, but shaved one stroke off in the second round with a 75 (+3) to jump 11 spots and sit tied for 15th.

One stroke behind Horseman is Tom Buffington, who scored a 152 on Monday. Buffington struggled in the opening round with an 80 (+8), but bounced back for a score of 72 (E) in the second. His second-round score was the second-best score for Missouri Western on the day, behind McCarthy’s 70.

Cole Roberts is tied for 25th with a score of 153 while Jake Mikesch shot a 155 to round out the scoring for the Griffons.

Missouri Western will look to continue momentum in the third round on Tuesday morning.

— MWSU Athletics —