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Griffons split doubleheader at Emporia State

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EMPORIA, Kan. – Griffon Baseball (14-14, 11-9) wore its rally caps to Emporia State (19-12, 13-7), overcoming a 7-0 deficit in game one of a doubleheader and nearly pulling off another comeback in game two.

GAME 1
Missouri Western 8, Emporia State 7

  • The Griffons scored eight unanswered runs through the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to overcome a 7-0 deficit and pick up the win
  • MWSU’s three relievers – Thomas Ruwe, Kellan Richards and Carson Dwyre – combined to allow just two hits and recorded 14 strikeouts over the final seven innings
  • Dusty Stroup got the Griffons on the board and scored the first of three two-out MWSU runs in the sixth with a solo home run
  • After Stroup’s blast, the next three Griffons got on base and two scored on Kyle Snuttjer’s single up the middle
  • The Griffons scored two more two-out runs in the seventh on Zach Pych and Jordan Jackson singles
  • Josh Robinson was hit by the first pitch in the eighth and Casey Danley tied the game four pitches later with a two-run blast to center
  • Pych drove in what proved to be the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth
  • Thomas Ruwe relieved Roy Robles in the third and went 4 2/3, striking out eight and allowing just one hit and one run
  • Richards struck out the two batters he faced to pick up the win and Dwyre struck out four of the six he faced to pick up his third save of the season
  • Stroup was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI
  • Conrad McMahon, Fahd Shakeel and Brooks Day had two hits each

GAME 2
Emporia State 8, Missouri Western 5

  • The Griffons, once again, mounted a comeback effort that fell short in the closing innings
  • Missouri Western scored all five of its runs via home runs
  • A pitcher’s duel through the first five innings, Jacob Purl held Emporia State to two hits through the first five while ESU’s Ryan Lee matched Purl’s efforts
  • MWSU took a 2-1 lead on Will Jibas’ home run in the sixth, but the Hornets answered with four in the bottom of the sixth
  • Down 5-2 in the seventh, Andrew Curry and Jordan Jackson hit back-to-back home runs to pull the Griffs within one
  • With two out in the seventh, Wyatt Meyer pinch hit for Jibas and tied the game at five with a two-out, two-run homer to left center.
  • Emporia State regained the lead, 6-5, on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh
  • The Griffons got two into scoring position with one out in the eighth, but a pair of force outs left the runners on
  • Emporia State added to its lead in the bottom of the eighth with the first three batters reaching and scoring two runs
  • McMahon went 3-for-5 and was the only Griff with more than one hit

UP NEXT

  • The two teams are scheduled to conclude the series on Saturday at noon.

— MWSU Athletics —

Bearcats take series opener against Fort Hays State 9-2

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MARYVILLE, Missouri – Max Spitzmiller was dealing on the mound for the Northwest Missouri State baseball team as he dialed up 7 1/3 innings of scoreless ball en route to a 9-2 victory for the Bearcats over the visiting Fort Hays State Tigers.

Northwest’s offense heated up, scoring two runs in the home half of the third inning. Sophomore infielder Peter Carlson singled to left field and was advanced to third base on the next at bat after junior infielder Calvin Rudolph reached on an error. Junior first baseman Connor Quick recorded his first RBI of the game, scoring Carlson and giving the Bearcats runners on first and second. A fielder’s choice advanced Rudolph to third base and he scored when sophomore infielder Matt Gastner slapped a single up the middle.

The Bearcats got on the board again in the fifth inning, scoring an additional seven runs to bring their lead to 9-0 over the Tigers. Successful small-ball advanced Northwest baserunners around the diamond, including doubles hit by senior catcher Alixon Herrera and senior infielder Logan Rycraft. Northwest scored seven runs on eight hits and left two on base.

The sophomore Spitzmiller got the start on the bump for Northwest. Spitzmiller tossed seven and 1/3 innings shutout innings for the Bearcats, giving up five hits and striking out four Fort Hays State batters.

Senior righty Jarrett Cronin relieved Spitzmiller of his duties on the mound, pitching the final one and 2/3 innings. Cronin gave up two runs (two earned) on one hit and struck out two. The Tigers tacked on two runs in the top of the ninth coming off of a two-run shot to left field by junior catcher Jared Maneth.

Northwest will be back in action Saturday, Feb. 6 for game two of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Bearcat Baseball Field.

NOTES: Northwest has won a season-best four games in a row … Northwest is 15-15 on the season and 11-8 in MIAA play … Rudolph extended his hitting streak ot 10 games … Quick (14) and Rudolph (11) extend their on-base streaks.

— Northwest Athletics —

MWSU men’s golf in sixth after day one of NSIC Regional Preview

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Missouri Western Men’s Golf made the quick trip to Kansas City for the NSIC Regional Preview on Friday, completing the first round tied for sixth in a deep field of 18 teams. The Griffons wrapped up the first round with a combined team score of 299.

Missouri Western tied Sioux Falls for the number-six spot on the team leaderboard. The Griffons are in the midst of a tightly-contested upper-half, with teams slotted fourth through seventh separated by just two strokes. Winona State currently holds the top spot with a 280 in the first round.

Tom Buffington had the top score for the Griffons, shooting a 73 (+2) to sit tied for 13th. Buffington’s two-over 73 ties his lowest single-round score for this spring.

Just one stroke behind Buffington was Cole Roberts. Roberts finished with a 74 (+3) in his first competition this spring. Lucas Horseman shot a 75 (+4) to tie for 24th heading into Saturday.

Patrick McCarthy and Jett Simmons ended the first round with scores of 77 (+6) and 78 (+7) respectively.

The Griffons will tee off the second round of the NSIC Regional Preview on Saturday morning.

— MWSU Athletics —

Northwest’s McCollum named McLendon National Coach of the Year

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Northwest Missouri State University’s Ben McCollum is the 2019 recipient of the John McLendon Collegiate Basketball Coach of the Year award as presented by CollegeInsider.com.

McCollum led the Bearcats to a perfect 38-0 record and the NCAA Division II national championship. Northwest became only the fifth program to complete an undefeated season and capture the NCAA Division II national title.

McCollum has guided the Bearcats to six straight MIAA regular season titles and four consecutive MIAA tournament crowns. In 10 seasons at Northwest, McCollum has an overall record of 241-75. In NCAA tournament play, McCollum has a mark of 19-5 with two national championships (2017, 2019).

The Storm Lake, Iowa, native is the first non-Division I head coach to receive the McLendon Award.

The John McLendon Award is presented annually to the top collegiate head coach and includes Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA and NJCAA.

A trailblazer and one of the true pioneers of the game, McLendon became the first African American coach to win an integrated national championship. His team went on to win the NAIA Division I Men’s Tournament in 1957, 1958 and 1959, making him the first coach in history to win three consecutive NAIA championships.

In 1962 he became the first African American head coach in a major professional league (ABL) with the Cleveland Pipers. In 1966 he became the first African American head coach of predominantly-white university, when he took over the Cleveland State program. He led the team to their best record in school history.

In 1969, McLendon was hired by the Denver Rockets and became the first African American head coach in the American Basketball Association. After a brief stint with the Rockets, McLendon ended his 25-year professional coaching career with a winning percentage of .760 and a lifetime career average of 523 victories and 165 losses.

Past McLendon Award Recipients
2018 – Chris Beard (Texas Tech)
2017 – Chris Holtmann (Ohio State)
2016 – King Rice (Monmouth)
2015 – Jim Engles (New Jersey Institute of Technology)
2014 – Gregg Marshall (Wichita State)
2013 – John Thompson (Georgetown)
2012 – Horace Broadnax (Savannah State)

— Northwest Athletics —

Cardinals drop home opener to San Diego 5-3

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ST. LOUIS (AP) — San Diego rookie Fernando Tatis Jr. knew all about the passionate St. Louis fan base — he was given a heads-up by his father, Fernando Sr., who played three seasons for the Cardinals.

Even with that scouting report, the 20-year-old Tatis couldn’t believe his ears on Friday when he received a loud ovation from the crowd in his first at-bat, as a visitor.

“I got goosebumps and everything,” Tatis said. “It was very special.”

Tatis went on to have a special day.

Tatis and pinch-hitter Hunter Renfroe homered as the Padres overcame another home run by Paul Goldschmidt to beat St. Louis 5-3 Friday in the Cardinals’ home opener.

Tatis Jr. was born in St. Louis and watched intently as highlights of his father’s exploits were played on the scoreboard prior to the Cardinals 128th home opener. Tatis Sr. hit 60 home runs as a member of the Cardinals including two grand slams in the same inning in a 12-5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 23, 1999.

“He told me that St. Louis fans are great and that they’d remember (him),” Tatis said. “He had a fun time, a great time over here.”

Tatis hit a two-run drive in the seventh off Alex Reyes (0-1). His second homer of the year helped the Padres score three times in the inning for a 5-2 lead.

“With him being a rookie and hitting a home run, I think that’s very special for him,” Renfroe said. “I think it’s very special for his dad as well.”

San Diego manager Andy Green says Tatis will never forget the moment.

“His dad knew how special this place was,” Green said. “He had a ton of respect for the fans and they’re passing that on.”

Padres starter Nick Margevicius allowed one hit over five innings, striking out one and walking one. In his major league debut, he gave up three hits and one run over five innings last weekend against San Francisco.

“I felt like I did a pretty good job executing my game plan,” Margevicius said. “I noticed pretty early getting quick outs was kind of a theme.”

Goldschmidt drew a standing ovation in his first at-bat at Busch Stadium since being traded to St. Louis. He hit his fifth home run in seven games this season, connecting in the eighth inning off Trey Wingenter.

“Any time you hit a home run, it’s nice,” Goldschmidt said. “We were trying to make a comeback there. We weren’t able to do it tonight, but hopefully tomorrow will be better.”

St. Louis starter Jack Flaherty tossed five shutout innings. He gave up six hits, but stranded eight runners. The Padres had a runner reach third base in four of the first five innings.

Reliever Robert Stock (1-0) picked up the win despite giving up the tying run on an RBI single by Marcell Ozuna in the sixth. Kirby Yates closed for his fourth save.

Paul DeJong also homered for St. Louis. The Cardinals have lost their road opener and home opener each of the last two seasons.

“You’ve got to remember, it’s still early April,” DeJong said. “And we’re playing these games tough.”

Franchy Cordero put the Padres ahead to stay 3-2 with a sacrifice fly in the seventh. Reyes started the inning by walking the first two hitters, who moved into scoring position on a wild pitch.

Renfroe hit a two-run homer off reliever Dominic Leone in the sixth to erase a 1-0 deficit. It was Renfroe’s third homer in the last three games.

ROAD TRIPPERS

San Diego began a 10-game road trip, which will be the Padres’ longest this season. After three in St. Louis, they will play three in San Francisco and four in Arizona before returning home to face Colorado on April 15.

GYORKO RETURNS

St. Louis INF Jedd Gyorko was activated from the disabled list after missing the first six games of the season due to a right calf strain. He grounded out in the sixth inning as a pinch-hitter. INF/OF Drew Robinson was sent down to Triple-A Memphis.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Ozuna was in the starting lineup after missing Wednesday’s game in Pittsburgh with tightness in his side. An MRI showed no structural damage. … RHP Carlos Martinez will throw a side session on April 13. He has been out with a right shoulder cuff strain.

UP NEXT

Padres: San Diego RHP Chris Paddack (0-0, 1.80) allowed two hits and one run in five innings of his major league debut against San Francisco on Sunday.

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha is 3-0 with a 2.32 ERA in five career starts against the Padres.

— Associated Press —

Northwest women add sixth student-athlete to 2019 recruiting class

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Northwest Missouri State University head women’s basketball coach Austin Meyer has added a sixth signee for the 2019-2020 recruiting class.

Emma Atwood is a 5’10” guard from Leon, Iowa. As a senior at Central Decatur High School, Atwood averaged 21 points per game, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting 60% from the field. She wrapped up her prep career with a record of 99-5 for head coach Curtis Boothe.

In her prep career, Atwood scored 1,434 points. She handed out 270 assists and grabbed 514 rebounds. She also tallied 206 steals and 36 blocks. She was a three-time all-state selection in basketball. Central Decatur reached the state tournament in Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines in each of the last four seasons. Atwood and the Cardinals reached the state semifinals in 2018 (Class 1A) and in 2019 (Class 2A).

Atwood competed in basketball, volleyball, track and softball for the Cardinals. She earned honorable mention all-state honors in volleyball.

She is an honor roll student and four-time academic letter winner. She earned the Presidential academic letter and is a member of the ACE program.

She is the daughter of Manuel and Nicki Atwood.

2019-20 Bearcat Women’s Basketball Signees
Kayla Chapman          5’9″     G         Treynor, Iowa (Treynor HS)
Emma Atwood            5’10”   G         Leon, Iowa (Central Decatur HS)
Jayna Green               6’1″     G/F      Omaha, Nebraska (Millard North HS)
Savannah Guenther   5’11”    G         Grayslake, Illinois (Grayslake North HS)
Chaise Pfanstiel         5’7″      G         Omaha, Nebraska (Millard West HS)
Paityn Rau                  6’2″     F          Waukee, Iowa (Waukee HS)

— Northwest Athletics —

Mizzou’s Cunningham earns WBCA All-America honorable mention honors

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TAMPA, Fla. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) has named Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-America Honorable Mention, as announced on Thursday. It is the third consecutive season Cunningham has received honorable mention honors from the WBCA.

The nod is Cunningham’s third All-America honor for her senior campaign, after she was announced to the All-America Third Team by the Associated Press on Monday and U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) on Tuesday.

Cunningham earned AP All-America Honorable Mention honors after outstanding sophomore and junior campaigns. Cunningham was recently named to her third straight All-SEC First Team by the league’s coaches, becoming the first player in program history to earn All-Conference First Team honors in three consecutive seasons. In addition, she was named to the All-SEC First Team by the Associated Press for the second straight season.

Cunningham closed her Mizzou career as Mizzou’s all-time scoring leader, finishing her historic career with 2,187 points. Among program records, Cunningham also ranks first in free throws made (537), second in three-pointers made (238), third in three-point percentage (40.3), third in free throw percentage (83.9), fourth in points per game (17.0) and fourth in assists (390).

In her senior campaign, Cunningham was the only player to average 17.0 ppg, make 80 three-pointers, make 150 free throws and record 200 rebounds. ). In conference play, Cunningham led the SEC in three-point shooting (46.5 percent) and threes per game (2.9). She reached 20 points in 16 games this season, including 10 times against SEC opponents, and 30 points four times.

Cunningham earned SEC All-Tournament honors after averaging 25.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg at the SEC Tournament, as she became the first Mizzou player to earn All-Tournament honors since 1994.

— Mizzou Athletics —

K.J. Lawson to transfer from Kansas

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LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self confirmed Friday that redshirt-sophomore guard K.J. Lawson will transfer from the KU team.

“K.J. will graduate this spring and will transfer as a graduate transfer,” Self said of Lawson, who will earn his liberal arts and sciences degree from KU in May and will be eligible next season. “We appreciate his time and efforts at KU and wish him the best moving forward.”

A transfer from Memphis after the 2016-17 season, Lawson sat out 2017-18 due to transfer rules and practiced with the Jayhawks as they made a run to the 2018 Final Four.

In 2018-19, Lawson played in 35 games and averaged 9.9 minutes, 3.1 points and 2.0 rebounds per outing. The Memphis, Tennessee, native scored in double figures three times, including a season-high 15 points against West Virginia on Feb. 16. He posted 13 points against Northeastern in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 21.

In two seasons at Memphis, Lawson played in 42 games with 33 starts and averaged 11.5 points and 7.0 rebounds with nine double-doubles. He was granted a medical redshirt following the 2015-16 season after playing in just 10 games. In 2016-17, Lawson was the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Rookie of the Year and a member of the AAC All-Rookie Team where he averaged 12.3 points and 8.1 rebounds.

— KU Athletics —

Royals drop series opener at Detroit 5-4

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DETROIT (AP) — Spencer Turnbull struck out 10 in six innings, and the Detroit Tigers drew four straight walks to start the bottom of the seventh, taking the lead for good in their 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday.

Josh Harrison stole two bases and scored three times for the Tigers in their home opener. It was tied at 3 in the seventh when Kansas City reliever Kyle Zimmer (0-1) walked Harrison, Nicholas Castellanos and Miguel Cabrera in succession. Kevin McCarthy then came on and walked Niko Goodrum on four pitches, forcing in a run.

Christin Stewart added a sacrifice fly that inning to make it 5-3. Blaine Hardy (1-0) allowed a solo homer to Alex Gordon in the eighth, his second inning of work. Shane Greene pitched the ninth for his fifth save in five chances.

Whit Merrifield singled, tripled and scored twice for the Royals, extending his hitting streak to 26 games dating to last season. He came up with two outs in the ninth and Billy Hamilton on first, but the speedy Hamilton never stole second, and Merrifield grounded out.

Turnbull, impressive enough in spring training to earn a spot in the rotation, allowed two earned runs in just his fifth major league start. He yielded six hits and two walks but prevented Kansas City from any big innings.

The Royals have lost four straight after winning their first two games this season. Detroit’s five runs were a season high. The Tigers had scored only 12 runs through their first seven games.

Detroit’s outfield wasn’t sharp defensively, and that helped Kansas City score two runs. An error by Castellanos in right field allowed Gordon to score from first on Jorge Soler’s double in the first. In the fifth, Goodrum was unable to cut off a ball hit to center, and Merrifield ended up with a leadoff triple. He came home on Gordon’s sacrifice fly for a 3-2 lead.

Goodrum answered with his bat, however, hitting a flare past first base for an RBI double in the bottom of the inning.

Cabrera hit an RBI single in Detroit’s two-run first.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Tigers: Detroit is without OF JaCoby Jones (left shoulder), and his absence appeared to hurt the Tigers defensively Thursday.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Jorge Lopez (0-1) takes the mound Saturdayt. He allowed four runs in five-plus innings against the Chicago White Sox in his first start this season.

Tigers: LHP Matt Moore (0-0) makes his first home start for Detroit.

— Associated Press —

Missouri Western baseball adjusts weekend series at Emporia State

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ST. JOSEPH – Griffon Baseball was oh, so close to getting a series in as scheduled, but yet again, Mother Nature had other plans. Missouri Western’s three-game series at Emporia State has been adjusted to accommodate for the threat of rain over the weekend in Emporia, Kansas.

The Griffons and Hornets will now open the series with a doubleheader on Friday, beginning at 3 p.m. The final game of the series is now scheduled for noon on Saturday, weather permitting. The Griffons have only played one game, March 26 at Northwest Missouri, as scheduled since the beginning of March.

Missouri Western will enter the Trusler Sports Complex 13-13 overall with a 10-8 record in MIAA play. Emporia State is 18-11 overall and 12-6 in the MIAA.

— MWSU Athletics —

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