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ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - The Griffons have won 23 of their last 24 games which includes their last six against MIAA competition. Griffon pitcher
Brandon Simmons continues to impress improving to 6-0 with a 6-1 victory last Thursday against Northwest Missouri State. Simmons has 30 career victories which is two shy of tying the MIAA record of 32. Simmons is now the all-time leader in victories passing Nick Finn (1972-75) who had 27. Simmons has 202 career strikeouts which puts him in 6th place all-time and he is just two strikeouts from being in 5th. Offensively the Griffons are leading the nation hitting .391 as a team. Junior
Michael Schulze leads the way with a .479 average. He has 56 hits and has scored 44 runs.
Jimmy Smelcer has been on a role as of late lifting his average to .416 with 42 hits and 11 doubles.
Grant Fink is hitting .444 with a team hit 11 home runs and 41 RBI.
Kyle Simpson and
Bubba Dotson are hitting .417 and .437 respectively. Senior pitcher
Logan Hollingsworth has pitched well for the Griffons appearing in 11 games. He has a 4-0 record with a 1.57 ERA with five saves. The Griffons are currently 20th in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and 3rd in the Central Region Poll. They are 12th in the College Baseball Line-up weekly poll and 13th in the D2baseballnews.com weekly poll. This week the Griffons take on the Southwest Baptist Bearcats in non-conference action in a single nine inning game and then will take on the Pittsburg State Gorillas this weekend in a three game series. The Griffons and the Gorillas will play a double header on Saturday, April 6 starting at 3:00 pm and will wrap up the series on Sunday, April 7th at 1:00 pm. Game will be played at Al Ortolan Field in Pittsburg, Kan.
KNOW THE OPPONENTS...
Record vs. the Bearcats since 2001: Overall: 36-7 - Home: 15-5 - Away: 19-2 - Neutral: 2-0
• Since 2001 the Griffons and the Bearcats have met 43 times with the Griffons taking a 36-7 lead in the series. The Griffons won both games they played this season. Both were in Springfield, Mo. at Drury University. MWSU won 10-3 and 16-6.
• Last season the two teams split a pair of games in St. Joseph. The Griffons won 4-2 and lost 2-1.
• This season the Bearcats are 10-15 and 10-11 in MIAA play. The Bearcats have won two of their last four games which includes a 8-6 extra inning contest against the 6th ranked Central Missouri Mules. They split with Fort Hays State this past weekend winning 5-1 and losing 13-4.
• As a team the Bearcats are hitting .282 with Ross Wolfe leading the way with a .349 average. He has 30 hits with eight doubles and two home runs. Bo Helsel is also hitting well for the Bearcats at .341. He has 30 hits to go along with two triples and four stolen bases. Five other Bearcats are hitting over .300 on the season.
• On the mound they have a 6.08 ERA with Ryan Harralston leading the way with a 2.65 ERA in 11 appearances. He has an 0-1 record in 17 innings. Zack Winchester has a 5.12 ERA with a 1-5 record. He leads the Bearcats with 38.2 innings pitched.
Record vs. the Gorillas since 2001: Overall: 33-10 - Home: 18-2 - Away: 15-8
• The Griffons and the Gorillas have met 43 times since 2001 with MWSU leading 33-10. The Griffons have won seven straight including eight straight in Pittsburg, Kan. The Griffons have also won 15 of the last 16 games against PSU.
• This season the Gorillas are 17-10 overall and 14-9 in MIAA play winning five straight.
• The Gorillas are led by first year head coach Matt Murray.
• On the season PSU is hitting .329 with six guys hitting over .300 and two over .400. Tory Stoffregen leads the way with a .406 average . He has 39 hits and 31 RBI. Brad Foss is hitting .400 with 40 hits and nine doubles. As a team they have hit 17 home runs with Ryan Bilovesky hitting eight.
• On the bump they have a 4.76 ERA with Ryan McKay leading the way with a 2.21 ERA. He has made 18 apperances with two saves and a 3-1 record. George Brandecker is 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA in eight apperances. James Fitzgerlds leads the way with six saves on the season.
GRIFF NOTES...
• Griffon pitcher
Brandon Simmons won his 30th career game last week with a 6-1 victory over Northwest Missouri State. Simmons the MWSU all-time leader taking over for Nick Finn who had 27. He set that record in 1972-75. Simmons is two wins away from tieing the MIAA record for wins.
• Simmons has 202 career strikeouts and now sits in sixth all-time at MWSU and is two away from being in 5th.
• The Griffons have five every day players that are hitting over .400 on the season.
• Junior
Michael Schulze is leading the team with a .479 batting average. He has 56 hits and 44 runs scored...he has 11 double, two triples, three home runs adn 32 RBI. He is also 9-for-12 in stolen bases. He currently has a 21 game hitting streak. .
• Senior second baseman
Jimmy Smelcer is hitting .416 with 42 hits and 22 runs scored. He has 11 doubles and 23 RBI.
Grant Fink is hitting .444 and has hit safely in 23 of his last 24 games. He also leads the team in home runs with 11, 41 RBI and 89 total bases.
• The Griffon bottom of the order has been as productive as the top. Senior centerfielder
Shawn Egge is hitting .379. He has scored 28 runs with 8 doubles, two home runs and 19 RBI.
• On the mound releif pitcher
Logan Hollingsworth is having a nice season. He has made 11 appearances with a 1.57 ERA. He has 5 saves and a 4-0 record. He has thrown 23.0 innings giving up just four earned runs while striking out 19.
• Junior's
Banks Born and
Jerad Hawkins have been solid as well. They both have appeared in seven games. Born is 3-0 with a 2.21 ERA while Hawkins is 3-0 with a 3.22 ERA.
• Senior pitched
Ethan Ward has been pretty good in his six starts. He holds a 2-1 record with a 3.63 ERA. He has pitched a team high 34.2 innings giving up 42 hits and 14 earned runs. He has 32 strikeouts on the season.
GRIFFON HEAD COACH BUZZ 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 386-299 overall and 265-197 in MIAA play at Missouri Western.
UP NEXT...
The Griffons will have another busy week with five more MIAA games scheduled. The Griffons will hit the road on Tuesday, April 9 for a double header with the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers in Kearney, Neb. Game time is set for 1:00 pm. The Griffons will return home on Saturday, April 13 with a double header against Lindenwood in St. Joseph, Mo. Game time is set for 1:00 pm. The two teams wrap up the series on Sunday, April 14 with game time set for 12:00 pm.
