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WARM UPS...
As the season reaches the halfway point, the Griffon Baseball team is geared toward a solid second half run as they defeated first place and 22nd ranked Central Oklahoma in three out of four games this past weekend at the Spring Sports Complex. In game one, pitcher
Grant Woods continued his solid performance on the mound throwing a complete game pacing the Griffs to 6-3 victory with first baseman
Hunter Weiss going 2 for 2 at the plate. After dropping game two 4-2, the Griffs won game three 7-3 paced by a 3 RBI performance from
Cody Childs and sterling relief pitching from
Tyler Sanders as he picked up his second win of the season. In the finale on Sunday,
Jake Jones gave up one run in seven innings in a 6-1 win. Outfielder
David Chew went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI. On Wednesday in non-conference action the Griffons scored 23 runs and pounded out 19 hits in a 23-1 victory over William Jewell. The Griffons
David Chew and
Matt Russell each had five RBI.
The Griffons are now 13-12 overall and 9-9 in MIAA play and take to the road this week for four games beginning Friday against Nebraska-Kearney with games times set for 3 PM, 1 PM & 12 PM respectively.
Home action continues on Friday, April 11 as the Griffs open a four game series with Pittsburg State at 6 PM. Admission is FREE!
KNOW THE OPPONENTS...
Record vs. Nebraska-Kearney since 2001: Overall: 6-2 MWSU - Home: 3-1 MWSU - Away: 0-0 - Neutral: 3-1 MWSU
The Lopers are coming off a weekend where they split a four game series with the Emporia State Hornets. The Lopers won the first two games of the series by scores of 9-6 and 3-1 before falling in the final two games by scores of 3-2 and 5-4.
So far this season the Lopers have been outstanding at the plate hitting .343 as a team with 85 doubles, six triples and 18 home runs. They have scored 208 runs with 187 RBI.
The Lopers have eight players that hit over .300 and two the hit over .400. Anthony Pacheco and Danny Droll hit .422 and .412 respectively. Pacheco leads the team with 43 hits while Droll leads the team with 15 doubles. Dillon Schroeder leads the team with five home runs and 35 RBI.
On the bump as a team the Lopers have a 4.71 ERA with Dalton Cowen leading the way with a 2.27 ERA. He has a 4-2 record in seven appearances. He has tossed 35.2 innings with 19 Ks. Adam Peters leads the team in innings pitched with 37.
As a team the Griffons are on a little bit of a role winning five of their last seven games which includes winning three of four against Central Oklahoma last weekend in St. Joseph, Mo. As a team the Griffons are hitting .293 with
Ryan Degner leading the way with a .370 average. Degner is second on the team in hits with 34, home runs with four and RBI with 20. He is tied for the team lead with seven doubles and seven stolen bases.
David Chew and
Trevor LaHonta lead the team in hits with 35 while Chew leads the team in RBI with 27. Chew currently has a six game hitting streak going. On the bump the Griffons have been led by
Tyler Sanders and
Jake Jones. Sanders has thrown a team hit 32.1 innings giving up just 11 earned runs while striking out 21. He has a 2-1 record with three saves. He has a 3.06 ERA allowing opponents to hit just .224 off of him.
Jake Jones has a 3.63 ERA with a 3-1 record. He has made nine appearances with three starts. he has struck out 17 batters in 22.1 innings of work.
Mason Queen leads the Griffons in Ks with 32 while
Dylan Roades leads the squad witha 2.16 ERA.
GRIFFON HEAD COACH BUZZ VERDUZCO...
• Charles "Buzz" Verduzco begins his 15th season at the helm of the Missouri Western baseball team in 2014. The Griffons had another solid season finishing First in the MIAA for the first time in school history. They also made their third consecutive trip to the MIAA Tournament and second ever trip the NCAA Division II Tournament. Verduzco was named MIAA Coach of the Year for the first time in his career and also had Player of the Year (
Michael Schulze) and Pitcher of the Year (
Brandon Simmons) for the first time in history. Verduzco has guided the Griffons to winning season in 11 of his 14 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 417-319 overall and 283-210 in MIAA play at Missouri Western.
• Verduzco won his 400th game on against the Central Oklahoma Bronchos on Central Oklahoma on May 9, 2013 by a score of 9-3 in the MIAA Tournament.
TID BITS ABOUT MISSOURI WESTERN...
NON-CONFERENCE GAMES UNDER VERDUZCO:
Under Verduzco the Griffons are 114-97 in non-conference games. The Griffons best non-conference record under Verduzco came in 2004 when they were 16-4 out of MIAA play. Griffons were 12-7 in non-conference games a season ago. They are 4-3 so far this season in non-conference game.s
MIAA GAMES UNDER VERDUZCO:
MWSU is 283-210 under Verduzco since 2000 in MIAA play. This season was Western's best season in school history as they won the MIAA Regular Season Title for the first time ever with a 28-5 overall record...Last season was the Griffons were 26-12 while in 2006 they went 21-9.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE:
The Griffons are 193-114 under Verduzco since 2001 at home. The Griffons finished this season with a 18-3 home record which is its best home record dating back to 2001. MWSU has had only two losing seasons at home since 2001. They were 11-18 in 2010 and 10-12 in 2011. In 2012 the Griffons were 18-5 while in 2013 the Griffons were 18-3.
ON THE ROAD:
Missouri Western has done well on the road in the last few years being .500 or better in 10 of Verduzco's 14 seasons. Last season they were 15-5 and last season MWSU finished 15-10. Overall since 2001 they are 167-135. MWSU's best season on the road came this season. In 2013 they were 15-10 and in 2004 when they were 12-8. This season the Griffons are 1-2 on the road splitting a doubleheader with Arkansas Tech before falling against Emporia State in Emporia in extra innings.
ON A NEUTRAL FIELD:
Since 2001 the Griffons are 34-33 when playing on a nutral field. They were 7-4 a season ago and 5-1 in 2001. They have had seven seasons when they had a .500 record or better on a neutral field. This season they are 1-1 splitting with Southwest Minnesota State.
IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT:
The Griffons are 1-4 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with their first appearance coming in 2006 in Emporia, Kan. The Griffons fell in their first game 16-5 against host Emporia State on May 18, 2006. The then rebounded for a 16-8 victory over the Central Missouri Mules on May 19, 2006 and then fell on May 20, 2006 against the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks by a score of 10-3. The Griffons ended that season with a 31-25 overall record. Last season the Griffons fell to #10 Southern Arkansas 6-1 on May 16, 2013 and then fell to #5 and host school MSU-Mankato by a score of 4-1 in 10 innings.
UP NEXT:
The Griffons continue road MIAA play with a series against the Lincoln Blue Tigers on April 4-6 in Jefferson City, Mo. The two teams play one nine inning game on Friday, April 4 with first pitch scheduled for 3 pm. On Saturday, April 5 the two teams play a double header starting at 1 pm and will conclude the series on Sunday April 6 with a single nine inning contest starting at 12 pm.
