Season Stats | MWSU Game Notes

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The Missouri Western baseball will open up the 2013 MIAA schedule this weekend in Emporia, Kan. against the Emporia State Hornets. The two teams will play a three game series on on Saturday, February 16 and Sunday, February 17. On Saturday they will play a doubleheader with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 pm and on Sunday they will play a single nine inning game with first pitch at 12:00 pm. All games will be played at Trusler Sports Complex in Emporia, Kan.

WARM UPS...
The 2013 Missouri Western Griffons will be on the road for the second straight weekend. The Griffons travel to Emporia, Kan. taking on the Emporia State Hornets in a three game MIAA series. This marks the first MIAA games for both teams. Charles “Buzz” Verduzco is in his 14th season as the Griffons head coach. Last season he guided the Griffons to a 34-17 overall record and an 26-12 record in MIAA play giving them a second place finish in the standings. The 34 victories is ties the second most in Griffon history. The Griffons are picked second in the MIAA preseason poll and will be searching for its second ever NCAA Regional appearance with the only one coming in 2006. Verduzco has a 246-196 MIAA record since being at Missouri Western.

KNOW THE OPPONENTS...
• The two teams open up play on Saturday, February 16th with a doubleheader starting at 1:00 pm. They will close out the series on Sunday, February 17th with  a single nine inning game starting at 12:00 pm.  
• The Hornets are currently 1-3 on the season after its opening weekend in Houston, Texas on Feb.  1-4th. The Hornets fell to Incarnate Word (14-3), Tarleton State (2-0) and Arkansas Tech (12-4). The defeated Texas A&M-Kingsville (3-2).
• Offensively the Hornets are led by Eric Dawson who is batting .400 with six hits. He has one double and two runs scored. Jordan Slade and Ashton McCoy both have three hits on the season.  
• Dakota McKaskle leads the way on the mound for ESU with their lone victory. He went six innings giving up six hits while striking out two.
• The Griffons and the Hornets split a pair of double headers last season with each team winning on the others field.

GRIFF NOTES...
• Griffon pitcher Brandon Simmons won his 25th career game last weekend with a 5-3 victory over Arkansas Tech. Simmons is now two victories away from tying Nick Finn who has 27. He set that record in 1972-75.
• Simmons has 178 career strikeouts and is just 15 away from being in a tied for sixth all-time at MWSU.
• Freshman Payton Scarbrough had a solid first weekend of collegiate baseball. He played in three games with one start. He hit .750 with three hits and had an on-base percentage of .800.
• Junior Michael Schulze picked up were he left off a season ago hitting .563 in the opening weekend of play. He had nine hits in 16 appearances with a home run and a double. He scored five times and had four RBI on the weekend.
• Senior Kyle Simpson had a nice opening weekend as well tallying five hits and three RBI.
• On the mound senior Oliver Kadey had a nice first outing. He came into the third game down 6-0 in the third inning. He pitched six scoreless innings giving up just two hits as the Griffons almost made the comeback falling 6-5.
• Senior pitched Ethan Ward also had a pretty good first outing going six innings scattering nine hits with three strikeouts and giving up just two earned runs.
• Senior Bubba Dotson had a nice weekend after returning from last seasons injury in the MIAA tournament. Dotson hit .357 with five hits, four runs scored and two RBI.

GRIFFON HEAD COACH JEN VERDUZCO...
• Charles “Buzz” Verduzco begins his 14th season at the helm of the Missouri Western baseball team in 2013. The Griffons had another solid season finishing second in the MIAA for the first time since 2005. They also made their second consecutive trip to the MIAA Tournament. He led the Griffons to a 34-17 overall record and a 26-12 record in MIAA play. Verduzco coached six all-MIAA player. Brandon Simmons and Spencer Shockley earned first team honors while Nate Ramler, Grant Fink and Nik Jurado were second team selections. Michael Schulze was an honoable mention selection. Verduzco has guided the Griffons to winning season in 10 of his 13 seasons.
• A native of Stockton, California, Verduzco came to Missouri Western from Washington State University where he was an assistant for the Cougar program for over 10 seasons. He served as the Cougars' hitting and outfield coach as well as the primary recruiting coordinator. Verduzco also directed the Cougar baseball camps and was the coordinator of alumni relations for the NCAA Division I program. Verduzco earned a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Washington State in 1985. Verduzco played and coached under legendary coach “Bobo” Brayton at Washington State.
• Buzz is 363-298 overall and 246-196 in MIAA play at Missouri Western.

GRIFFON BASEBALL HISTORY...
First Year of Baseball: 1970
Overall All-Time Record: 1,040-1,022-5 (.504)
NCAA Postseason Appearances: 1 - 2006 Central Regional (1-2)
Most Recent Postseason: 2012 - 1-2
    (MIAA Conference Tournament)
    W, 12-8 vs. Washburn University
    L, 3-1 vs. University of Central Missouri
    L, 3-2 vs. Fort Hays State University

UP NEXT...
The Griffons will play their first home game of the 2013 season on Saturday, February 16 when they host the Southwest Baptist Bearcats in an MIAA double header. First game will be a seven inning contest and the second game will be a nine inning contest. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 pm from the MWSU BB Field at the Spring Sports Complex. The two teams will play a single nine inning game on Sunday, February 17 with game time set for 12:00 pm.