Sports – Page 17 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Royals get blanked by Philadelphia 7-0

Posted on May 11, 2019May 12, 2019

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Zach Eflin and backup catcher Andrew Knapp have a good thing going. Phillies manager Gabe Kapler isn’t about to break them up.

Eflin became the majors’ first pitcher with two complete games this season, lifting Philadelphia over the Kansas City Royals 7-0 Saturday night.

Knapp has caught Eflin’s last three starts, and the 25-year-old right-hander has rolled right through them. He pitched nine innings of one-run ball two starts ago against Miami, then delivered seven innings of one-run ball last time out against Washington.

Now, this gem, Eflin’s second career shutout and first since July 22, 2016 in his eighth major league start.

“I will say this, if he throws complete-game shutouts, I will not not have Knapp catch him the next time out,” Kapler said.

Eflin (5-3) allowed four hits, struck out seven and walked none while throwing 110 pitches.

“There’s so many guys that pitch away from contact in this game,” Kapler said. “He’s fearless. He’s attacking the zone with all of his pitches.”

Knapp and Eflin have played together since Double-A in 2015 and developed a strong chemistry.

“I think it goes a long way when a guy trusts his catcher the way Zach trusts me and that didn’t come all at once,” Knapp said. “That’s been a long time coming with a lot of games played together, but we’re definitely on the same page. All I’m doing is calling the pitches. He’s the one executing it, so all the credit goes to him.”

“He knows what I’m best at, probably moreso than I do,” Eflin said.

Odubel Herrera doubled and tripled, and Andrew McCutchen and Rhys Hoskins each drove in two for Philadelphia. The Phillies worked seven walks, with every starter reaching base at least once.

Brad Keller (2-4) struggled with his command again, an issue that has plagued him all season. Keller walked four, hit one and threw a wild pitch in five-plus innings. The Phillies turned those free passes into six runs despite just five hits.

“I was yanking my head and pulling off pitches,” Keller said. “We had a really good game plan going in. We didn’t execute it the way we wanted to.”

It was Keller’s eighth consecutive start with at least three walks.

“He’s fighting his mechanics, which in turn leads to him fighting his command,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “Walks hurt him, especially walks to the bottom-of-the-order guys. He’s battling through it.”

The top four batters in the Royals lineup each had one hit off Eflin, while the bottom five went 0 for 14.

“He hit a lot of corners. He was getting a little bit off the corners, too,” Royals infielder Whit Merrifield said. “But when you’re pounding the zone, you tend to get those good pitcher’s pitches. He mixed it up enough. He didn’t throw it over the white a whole lot. When you mix that with good stuff it’s hard to hit.”

Adalberto Mondesi stole his 13th base of the season and third over his last two games, breaking a tie with Tim Anderson of the Chicago White Sox for most in the majors.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Phillies: Philadelphia placed RHP Vince Velasquez (right forearm strain) on the injured list, retroactive to May 8. … The Phillies recalled LHP Austin Davis from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Davis made his only major league appearance this season on April 21, throwing two scoreless innings against the Colorado Rockies.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Jakob Junis (3-3, 5.52 ERA) will start the series finale Sunday. Junis is coming off a 6-4 loss to Houston where he gave up three home runs and a season-high nine hits in 5 1/3 innings of work.

Phillies: LHP Cole Irvin is expected to make his major league debut Sunday. Irvin is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA in six starts this season for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

— Associated Press —

Cardinals drop second straight to Pittsburgh 2-1

Posted on May 11, 2019May 12, 2019

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jordan Lyles had to change his plan on the fly.

Lyles overcame a 30-pitch first inning to combine with four relievers on a two-hitter, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 Saturday for their seventh win in 10 games following an eight-game losing streak.

Lyles (3-1) allowed one hit through six innings, struck out six and walked three, lowering his ERA to 2.09, fifth-best in the NL.

With the Cardinals lying off of his curveball, the 28-year-old right-hander relied more on secondary pitches. He said he threw more sliders than he had in previous games this season.

“I’ve made strides in making that pitch better, which allows my other pitches to play up a little better alongside with throwing more elevated fastballs and occasional sinkers,” Lyles said.

He battled through the first after a rain delay of 2 hours, 56 minutes, at the start. He struck out Matt Carpenter in a 10-pitch at-bat leading off, walked Paul Goldschmidt on a full count, retired Paul DeJong on a lineout that ended a seven-pitch at-bat, then struck out Marcell Ozuna in another seven-pitch at-bat.

“It’s not the way you draw it up coming out of the blocks, but he was steadfast in his approach, his conviction with pitches and stayed in the hunt,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said.

Lyles was removed after 101 pitches. He had been 0-1 with a pair of no-decisions since beating San Francisco on April 19.

“We were able to bounce back after the second, a couple of one, two, three innings,” Lyles said. “It wasn’t ideal to start the game off, but we bounced back in a decent way.”

St. Louis’ only hit off Lyles was an RBI double by DeJong in the third that glanced off the glove of right fielder Gregory Polanco as he jumped into the wall.

“I think there comes a point in time in a guy’s career where they figure out who they are, they like who they are and they go out and pitch like who they are,” Hurdle said. “I think Lyles got to that point last season.”

Richard Rodriguez and Francisco Liriano combined on a perfect seventh, and Kyle Crick gave up a single to Goldschmidt around a pair of walks in the eighth, then escaped the bases-loaded jam by retiring Ozuna on a groundout. Felipe Vazquez pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save in 12 chances.

After scoring 17 runs in the series opener, the Cardinals were held to one for the second straight day.

Polanco had an RBI triple in the fourth and scored on a single by Josh Bell, who extended his hitting streak to 11 games.

Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas (4-3) gave up three hits — all in a row — and struck out a season-high seven in seven innings. St. Louis has lost two in a row to the Pirates after winning its first three games against Pittsburgh this season.

“I think everyone’s been trending in the right direction,” Mikolas said. “Baseball cliche, sometimes the pitchers will pick up the slack. Sometimes the hitters will do that. Once we start clicking on all cylinders and doing everything right at the right time we’ll be a very scary baseball club.”

SLUMPING

Pittsburgh’s Jung Ho Kang pinch hit in the eighth and struck out, extending his hitless streak to 23 at-bats since April 26 and dropping his batting average to .133.

STREAKING

DeJong was reached safely in all 22 home games for the Cardinals this season, getting hits in 20 of them.

WEB GEM

Cardinals 2B Kolten Wong made a sliding basket catch in short centerfield with his back to the plate to rob Bryan Reynolds of a hit leading off the seventh.

A CALL TO ARMS

Pittsburgh acquired 28-year-old right-hander Chris Stratton from the Los Angeles Angels for cash on Saturday. Stratton went 0-2 with an 8.59 ERA in five starts and two relief appearances for the Angels, then was designated for assignment on May 7.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Pirates: RHP Nick Burdi (right biceps/elbow pain) was moved to the 60-day IL to make room for Stratton on the 40-man roster.

Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (right shoulder cuff strain) is to make his third appearance for Triple-A Memphis on Sunday. He pitched a scoreless inning with two strikeouts and a hit on Friday night.

UP NEXT

LHP Steven Brault (0-1, 7.11 ERA) is scheduled to make his second start of the season for the Pirates against the Cardinals and RHP Dakota Hudson (2-2, 4.63 ERA) in the finale of the four-game series on Sunday. Brault made his major league debut against the Cardinals in 2016 and is 0-1 with a 3.43 ERA in eight appearances against them. Hudson allowed a career high eight runs, though only two were earned, over five innings in a loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday.

— Associated Press —

Griffons’ season ends in NCAA Central Regional with loss to No. 2 seed Winona State

Posted on May 10, 2019

WINONA, Minn. – After extending its season with a 7-3 win over St. Cloud State Friday afternoon, Griffon Softball’s season came to an end with a 5-2 loss to No. 6 Winona State in the NCAA Central Region Championships.

A four-run fifth inning gave Winona State a 4-1 lead that was plenty for Central Region Pitcher of the Year Jordyn Kleman. The Winona State starter struck out 12, walked none and allowed just four Griffon hits over seven innings. The second of those hits led to the Griffons taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth.

Sydni Hawkins led off the inning with a single down the left field line and scored on a Lonnie Groves single. The Warriors answered with six-straight one-out hits that chased Griffon starter Kaili Hinds from the game in the bottom half of the inning. After getting out of a one-out bases loaded jam in the first with two strikeouts, Hinds retired seven-straight batters. Hinds took the loss to end her season 16-5.

Winona State tacked on one more run in the sixth and with two out in the seventh, Lauren Houston hit her second home run of the season off Kleman to give the Griffs their second run.

Missouri Western ended the season 38-18, taking second place in the MIAA regular season standings and the postseason championships. The regional appearance was the 12^th all-time for the program and the seventh in the past nine years.

GAME 1
Missouri Western 7, St. Cloud State 3
The Griffons jumped out to a 5-0 lead after 2 innings, but St. Cloud State answered with three in the bottom of the third. Two more insurance runs left little doubt as Missouri Western guaranteed itself one more game.

The Griffons hit three home runs in the game, including solo shots by Taylor Hoelscher and Emma Hoffart in the third. Cassidy Kelsheimer added another homer in the fifth. Kelsheimer went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in the game. Hoelscher was 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Lexi Kinnaird got the win, pitching the first eight innings to finish the season 11-5. Olivia Goodale broke the MWSU single season saves record with her sixth of the season.

— MWSU Athletics —

Gordon powers Royals to 5-1 win over Phillies

Posted on May 10, 2019

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Alex Gordon homered twice to drive in three runs, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-1 Friday night.

Homer Bailey (4-3) gave up one run and four hits in five-plus innings, and Scott Barlow struck out a career-high six in two innings of relief for the Royals. Jorge Soler added his team-leading 10th home run of the season.

Gordon’s second homer, a solo shot in the fifth inning, was the 1,500th hit of his career. It was also his fifth career multihomer game and first since August 20, 2016, when he hit two against Minnesota. He also homered in the bottom of the first inning, sending a two-run shot over the home bullpen in right field.

Bailey left after giving up back-to-back singles to lead off the sixth. Barlow came in and pitched around a one-out walk to strike out the side and leave the bases loaded, then struck out all three batters he faced in the seventh inning.

After giving up 10 runs in 10 innings over his first two starts, Bailey has allowed just 12 runs in his last six outings with a 3.48 ERA over 31 innings.

Jake Diekman worked his eighth consecutive scoreless outing, striking out two batters in the eighth inning and Ian Kennedy pitched a perfect ninth. The Royals’ bullpen threw four hitless innings and struck out eight.

Soler homered in the bottom of the sixth.

Phillies starter Jake Arrieta (4-3) also went five-plus innings, giving up four runs and seven hits. He allowed three home runs in a start for the first time since May 29, 2015, against the Royals. Gordon also went deep in that game.

Bryce Harper walked three times and scored Philadelphia’s only run of the game, coming home on Odubel Herrera’s RBI grounder in the fourth.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Phillies: Gabe Kapler said infielder Scott Kingery (right hamstring strain) could begin a minor-league rehab assignment on Monday. … Pitchers RHP David Robertson (right elbow soreness) and RHP Tommy Hunter (right forearm strain) played catch for first time Friday, but neither is close to a return to game action.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Brad Keller (2-3, 3.99 ERA) will make his first career start against the Phillies on Saturday. Keller pitched 5 1/3 innings Sunday, allowing two runs on six hits and taking a no-decision in a 5-2 loss to Detroit.

Phillies: RHP Zach Eflin (4-3, 3.00 ERA) will face the Royals for the first time.

— Associated Press —

Danley’s 9th inning HR rallies Missouri Western past Emporia State at MIAA Tourney

Posted on May 10, 2019May 10, 2019

PITTSBURG, Kan. – With Griffon Baseball’s season on the brink, Casey Danley hit a two-out, three-run home run to extend Missouri Western’s season by at least a day. Danley’s bomb in the ninth inning gave Missouri Western a 4-2 win over Emporia State in an elimination game of the MIAA Championships.

Danley’s game-winning blast was set up by a one-out pinch-hit single by Jordan Jackson and a single by Will Jibas. After Conrad McMahon struck out, Danley pushed an 0-1 pitch over the left field wall, into the wind and onto the softball field beyond left at Al Ortalani Field. Anthony Castaneda retired the Hornets in order in the bottom of the ninth on nine pitches to earn his first save of the season and receive some vindication after suffering his first loss in over a month the previous day.

Missouri Western took a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth on a Dusty Stroup sac-fly. The Griffons had been held hitless until Danley singled through the left side in the sixth. Emporia State took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth on a two-RBI single by Tanner Arst, a lead that held until the bottom of the ninth.

Jacob Purl matched Emporia State starter Jake Barton’s pace, allowing just one hit through 5 1/3, but Purl walked five to allow both Hornet runs. Jacob Miller came in in the sixth and allowed just one hit through 2 1/3 with three strikeouts and three walks. Kellan Richards (2-3) got the win throwing just one pitch that wasn’t put in play. Richards entered with two on and two out in the eighth. Emporia State stole third to put runners at the corners and attempting a double steal, Paul Claassen was thrown out at the plate from Richards to Jibas.

The Griffons advanced in the MIAA’s postseason tournament to face the loser of Friday night’s Central Missouri vs Pittsburg State game. MWSU’s next game was scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday.

— MWSU Athletics —

Northwest gets eliminated from MIAA Tournament by Lindenwood

Posted on May 10, 2019May 10, 2019

PITTSBURG, Kansas – The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team saw its season come to an end Friday as the Lindenwood University Lions posted a 4-3 victory in an elimination game in the MIAA Tournament.

Lindenwood (28-24 overall) used a one-out, ninth-inning solo home run by Mitchell Krebs off Northwest closer Trevor Dudar for the deciding run in the contest. Northwest concludes the 2019 season with a mark of 23-27.

Lindenwood drew first blood with a run in the top of the third. Calvin Nowak led off the inning with a triple to the right field wall. Nowak then scored on a sacrifice fly from Kolby Schulte.

The Lions extended the margin to 2-0 in the fourth inning on another sacrifice fly. Bryce Beckmann singled to right on an 0-2 count. Beckmann stole second and moved to third as the throw down to second from Jay Hrdlicka ended up in center field. Ryan Venne drove a ball deep enough to left to plate Beckmann for the second run of the game.

Northwest manufactured a run in the fifth without the benefit of a hit. Derek Hussey drew a leadoff walk. Hussey moved up to second on a wild pitch. Pinch hitter Enrique Gonzalez grounded out and Hussey took third on the play. Jay Hrdlicka delivered a sacrifice fly to left that allowed Hussey to gallop home and cut the lead to 2-1.

The Bearcats evened the matchup at 2-2 in the sixth. With one out Peter Carlson and Calvin Rudolph drew back-to-back walks. Quick followed with a single to load the bases. Matt Gastner came through with a sac fly that scored Carlson to tie it up.

Lindenwood retook the lead in the seventh with an unearned run off Northwest starting pitcher Quintin Van Ackeren. Venne led off with a ball hit down the first-base line that Quick could not handle and allowed Venne to reach second. Kolby Schulte singled up the middle that allowed Venne to score from second and give the Lions a 3-2 lead. Van Ackeren gave up another single and was relieved by Ethan Griswold. Griswold extinguished the rally by retiring both batters he faced.

This back-and-forth affair was evened up again in the seventh when Hrdlicka ripped an RBI double to left on an 0-2 count. Gonzalez had led off the seventh with a single and flew around the bases on Hrdlicka’s drive to left that left the score tied at 3-3.

Dudar came on in relief in the top of the eighth with a runner on. Dudar allowed a stolen base and a walk but shut down the Lions’s rally with a pair of strikeouts and kept the contest at 3-3.

Dudar struck out Lindenwood’s Schulte to start the ninth. However, Krebs hit the first pitch he saw for a home run to right to give the Lions a 4-3 advantage.

Northwest’s Gonzalez worked a leadoff walk in the ninth. Head coach Darin Loe sent Jonathan Hernandez in to pinch run for Gonzalez. Hrdlicka advanced Hernandez to second with a successful sacrifice bunt back to the pitcher. Second baseman Tim Olson, who came in as a defensive replacement, struck out in his only plate appearance in the game for the second out in the ninth. Shortstop Logan Rycraft popped out to first for the final out.

Van Ackeren had a no decision as he went 6 1/3 innings on the mound. Van Ackeren gave up 10 hits, three runs (two earned) and struck out two.

NOTES: Lindendwood outhit Northwest, 14-4 … Northwest’s four hits came from Rudolph, Quick, Gonzalez and Hrdlicka … Hrdlicka tallied a team-best two RBI … Gastner had Northwest’s other RBI … Rudolph posted Northwest’s only stolen base in the game … Dudar suffered the loss to fall to 3-4 on the year.

— Northwest Athletics —

MWSU’s McCarthy finishes Super Regional with 2-under par 69

Posted on May 10, 2019May 10, 2019

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 —

St. Louis loses at home to Pittsburgh Friday 2-1

Posted on May 10, 2019May 10, 2019

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Adam Frazier opened the game with a homer, Starling Marte drove in the game-winner and Trevor Williams allowed one run in seven solid innings as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 on Friday night.

Marte’s RBI single off of Andrew Miller (1-2) broke a 1-1 tie in the eighth and helped the Pirates snap a two-game skid.

Williams (2-1) stranded seven runners through the first four innings, and pitched around two fielding errors in the fourth inning. He allowed nine hits and limited the Cardinals to one hit in seven at-bats with runners in scoring position.

The Cardinals finished with one hit in nine at-bats with runners in scoring position, one night after getting a whopping 11 hits in that situation. St. Louis lost for the seventh time in nine games.

The only run allowed by Williams was shift-aided. Paul DeJong grounded a slow roller to second, but Frazier was playing on the third base side of the bag and couldn’t get to the ball in time to make a throw. The infield hit scored Yairo Munoz, tying the game 1-1 in the seventh inning.

Kyle Crick pitched out of a jam in the eighth inning with runners on first and third. Felipe Vazquez struck out Paul Goldschmidt to cap a perfect ninth and earn his 11th save.

Frazier drove a 3-2 fastball from Adam Wainwright over the right field wall to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead. It was the second time this year — and fourth time in his career — that Frazier began a game with a home run.

The Pirates’ Josh Bell extended his hitting streak to 10 games in the first inning and saved a run with a diving stop on a smash by Matt Carpenter that ended the second inning.

Wainwright went a season-high seven innings and retired the final 10 batters he faced. He struck out eight — five looking — and allowed five hits and no walks.

BATTERY MATES

It was the 250th time that Yadier Molina caught a Wainwright start, moving the duo to ninth all-time in the majors ahead of Early Wynn and Jim Hegan (1949-1957 Cleveland Indians).

YADI HONORED

Molina was presented with the 2018 Roberto Clemente Award before the game for to his humanitarian efforts in his native Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. Luis Clemente, the second-oldest son of Roberto, and Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith presented the award.

TRAINING ROOM

Pirates: RHP Chris Archer (right thumb irritation) threw a four-inning, 60-pitch simulated game to teammates Corey Dickerson, Lonnie Chisenhall and Elias Diaz on Friday. He said he had no issues griping the ball on any of his pitches.

“I threw everything, everything felt fine, no pitch was affected, body feels good,” Archer said. “I’m not sure exactly where we go from here, but I’m ready to pitch five days from now in a big league game.”

Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (right shoulder cuff strain) threw a scoreless inning of relief, striking out two and giving up a hit, at Triple-A Memphis on Friday night. He is still considered two weeks away.

UP NEXT

The Pirates will send RHP Jordan Lyles (2-1, 2.20 ERA) to the mound against the Cardinals and RHP Miles Mikolas (4-2, 4.02 ERA) in the third of a four-game series on Saturday. Lyles gave up one run in a season-high 6 2/3 innings in a no-decision against Oakland on Sunday. Mikolas pitched seven scoreless innings and didn’t walk a batter for the first time this season against Philadelphia on Monday.

— Associated Press —

Griffons let three-run lead slip away in NCAA Tournament opener, lose to Augustana 8-7

Posted on May 9, 2019

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 —

Missouri Western’s upset bid comes up short against No. 1 seed Central Missouri 5-4

Posted on May 9, 2019May 9, 2019

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 —