HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Missouri Western junior golfer Patrick McCarthy finished the Central/Midwest Super Regional with his best round of the tournament, shooting a 2-under-par to finish tied for 33rd with a three-round 7-over.

McCarthy tied for the second best round in the field in the third and final round Friday at Hot Springs Country Club. The senior improved each round with a 5-over in Friday’s second round then the 69 in the third. He moved up more than 30 spots after his round one 78.

In the third round, McCarthy eagled No. 6 and birdied Nos. 3, 15 and 18. He did have bogeys on No. 4 and No. 14. He was 5-under on Par 5s for the weekend, tied for the third-best in the field and his eagle was one of 15 turned in throughout three rounds of play.

Lindenwood claimed the team championship.

— MWSU Athletics —

WINONA, Minn. – The 6th-seeded Missouri Western softball team led No. 3 seed Augustana (S.D.) for 6 innings, but the Vikings scored two in the bottom of the seventh to defeat the Griffons 8-7 in the first round of the NCAA Division II Central Regional Tournament at Winona, Minnesota.

No. 15-ranked Augustana got a sacrifice fly from Shannon Peterson in the bottom of the seventh to score an unearned winning run. After Augie led off the seventh with a double to right center, Ashley Mickshl reached on a fielding error. Then Lexi Kinnaird forced a Kendall Cornick into a fly out. With one down, Maggie Kadrlik doubled down the right field line to score the tying run. One batter later, Peterson drove in Mickshl.

The Griffons took an early 1-0 lead that Augustana matched in the bottom of the first, but a three-run second gave MWSU a lead it held until the bottom of the seventh. Starting pitcher Kaili Hinds and Kinnaird managed to work around a lot of Augustana base runners to keep the Augie run total to a minimum, while the Griffon offense was taking advantage of every opportunity. Missouri Western scored its seven runs – the most allowed by Augustana since April 9 and tied for the second most allowed by the Vikings all season – on just seven hits. The Vikings needed 18 hits, including five doubles and two home runs, to score eight.

Eight walks drawn by Griffon batters were tied for the most allowed by Augie all season. The Griffons chased the starting pitcher, Mickschl from the game after four innings. The second team NFCA All-Central Region utility player allowed five runs on six hits with four walks through four innings.

Brea Blanton went 2-for-2 at the plate with three runs scored and two RBIs. She led off the game with a double, one of two in the game, and came around to score the Griffons’ first run on an Emma Hoffart double. Every batter in the Griffon starting lineup reached base at least once. Kinnaird (10-5) was charged with the loss. She pitched 5 2/3 in relief of Kaili Hinds who pitched an inning-plus.

Missouri Western will face No. 7 seed St. Cloud State on Friday at 3:30 p.m. The Huskies lost 5-0 to No. 2 seed Winona State on Thursday. The Griffons defeated St Cloud State 9-8 on Feb. 2 in the Husky Dome.

— MWSU Athletics —

PITTSBURG, Kan. – No. 1 seed Central Missouri scored four unanswered runs on No. 8 seed Missouri Western to thwart the Griffons’ upset bid, 5-4, in the opening round of the MIAA Championships Thursday afternoon.

MWSU staked a 3-0 lead on the No. 8 team in the nation after two innings. Dusty Stroup drove in the first run in the first on a fielder’s choice. Andrew Curry got Stroup home in the first on a sac-fly to give MWSU a 2-0 lead. A Central Missouri error in the second led to Wyatt Meyer scoring on a ball hit to the Mule third baseman by Casey Danley. UCM got its first run in the bottom of the fourth, but MWSU answered when Stroup drove in his second of the game with a ground out to short that scored Zach Pych in the fifth. It was Missouri Western’s last run.

UCM got two in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out RBI single. A throwing error that would have been the second in the bottom of the seventh allowed the tying run to score for the Mules and the runner who reached on the error scored what proved to be the winning run.

After Will Jibas led off the ninth with a single, Pych fouled out to the first baseman on a bunt attempt and Casey Danley and Conrad McMahon struck out.

Danley went 3-for-5 at the plate with a run scored and a double. Stroup drove in two without a hit. Jibas went 2-for-2 after replacing starting catcher Kyle Snuttjer. Carson Dwyre struck out four and walked one while allowing three runs on five hits through the first 4 2/3. Anthony Castaneda (6-3) took the loss, his first since March 2 against Central Oklahoma. Castaneda pitched 3 1/3, allowing two unearned runs on three hits with four strikeouts and no walks.

The Griffons would await the loser of the No. 4 seed Pittsburg State, No. 5 seed Emporia State matchup at 12:30 on Friday.

— MWSU Athletics —

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Missouri Western junior golfer Patrick McCarthy shot a 6-over par in the first round of the Central/Midwest Super Regional to finish the first day of play at Hot Springs Country Club tied for 69th.

McCarthy turned in two birdies on the day with a 3 on No. 4 and a 4 on No. 18. The junior making his third regional appearance, also had seven bogeys. McCarthy was third among individual qualifiers and was only a few strokes outside of the top 20 with the average score over 76 across all competitors.

With the threat of severe weather in the area coming, the final round has been moved up one day to Friday. The competitors will play 36 holes on Friday with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start.

— MWSU Athletics —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Five members of the Missouri Western baseball team were named All-MIAA as announced by the association Wednesday afternoon.

Headlining the class was first team All-MIAA starting pitcher Anthony Castaneda. Casey Danley was named second team outfielder and Dusty Stroup was a second team selection as a third baseman. Receiving honorable mention All-MIAA honors were outfielders Conrad McMahon and Fahd Shakeel.

FIRST TEAM ALL-MIAA
Anthony Castaneda, Starting Pitcher
Castaneda was twice named MIAA Pitcher of the Week, beginning the season 6-0. He finished the regular season with a 6-2 record and a 2.47 ERA. His 107 strikeouts were second most in the MIAA and ranked as the third most ever in a season by a Griffon pitcher. Castaneda’s 2.47 ERA was fourth-best in the MIAA. He twice recorded 14-strikeout games, tying the Missouri Western single game record. Castaneda was named the Missouri Western Baseball Student-Athlete of the Year.

SECOND TEAM ALL-MIAA
Casey Danley, Outfield
Danley picked up his second All-MIAA selection after being named honorable mention as a third baseman last year. He led MWSU and tied for third in the MIAA with 11 home runs. Danley also led MWSU with 35 RBIs.

Dusty Stroup, Third Base
Stroup slid over to third base and picked up the third All-MIAA honor of his career. A second team selection at shortstop in 2018 and the Co-Freshman of the Year and honorable mention pick in 2017 hit safely in 14 of his final 17 games this season. Stroup had 28 hits during a 13-game hitting streak late in the season to finish second on the team with a .329 batting average. Stroup also led the team with 12 doubles and was second on the team with 31 RBIs.

HONORABLE MENTION ALL-MIAA
Conrad McMahon, Outfield
In his one season at MWSU, McMahon led the team with a .345 batting average. McMahon was charged with just one error in the outfield and had four outfield assists. Primarily the team’s leadoff hitter, McMahon had a team-high .402 on base percentage.

Fahd Shakeel, Outfield
Shakeel finished third on the team with a .327 batting average and led the Griffons with 53 hits and 10 stolen bases. His 33 runs scored were second on the team to Danley and his 27 RBIs ranked third on the team.

Missouri Western will face Central Missouri on Thursday in the first round of the MIAA Championships in Pittsburg, Kansas.

— MWSU Athletics —

MUSKOGEE, Okla. – Missouri Western’s Shi Qing Ong advanced to the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf National Championships with a tie for second place at the Central Region Championships on Tuesday. Ong carded an even-par in round two and was 1-over in round three to finish 5-over for the tournament.

The senior was the top individual on a non-advancing team, earning her a spot in the national championships next week at the PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Making its fourth-consecutive appearance in the regional tournament, the women’s golf team finished 11th.

In her first regional appearance, Anna Bech tied for 43rd with a three-round 240. Playing in her third regional, Chong Yong turned in a three-round score of 248. Katie Irvin finished with a 255 and Jenna Kosmatka finished with a 258.

Weather again affected play on Tuesday. With the threat of severe weather in the area, the tournament was cut down to two days with rounds two and three played Tuesday. Just after completing round two, the teams had to wait out more rain to get the final round in at Muskogee Country Club.

— MWSU Athletics —