Game Notes | Live Stats

WARM UPS...
As the season enters the final few weeks, the Griffon Baseball team is geared toward a solid second half run as they won three of five road games last week. The Griffons pounded out 19 hits scoring 23 runs in a 23-1 victory against William Jewell College on Tuesday.  All nine of the Griffon starters got a hit in the game with David Chew, Jake Schrader and Cody Childs all getting three. Matt Russell and Chew each had five RBI in the contest. Mark Spreckels got the victory for the Griffons going three innings giving up five hits while striking out four. In game one, pitcher Grant Woods continued his solid performance on the mound throwing 5.1 innings pacing the Griffs to 6-3 victory with center fielder Ryan Degner going 2 for 4 at the plate.  Tyler Sanders also got his fourth save of the season. In game two the Griffons got a big home run in the top of the 7th from Jake Schrader helping the Griffons to a 9-6 victory. The rest of the weekend did not end like the Griffons wanted as the Lopers came from behind in game three picking up a 4-3 victory before winning the finale 11-6.  

The Griffons are now 15-14 overall and 11-11 in MIAA play and take to the road this week for four games beginning Friday against Lincoln 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. the Blue Tigers since 2001: Overall: 14-4 - Home: 7-1 - Away: 7-2 - Neutral: 0-1
• The Griffons and the Blue Tigers have met 18 times since the 2001 season with the Griffons leading 14-4. 
• The Griffons won 10 of the last 13 meetings which included all three in 2013 in Jefferson City, Mo. In 2012 the Griffons took 3-of-4 against the Blue Tigers while the two teams split in 2011 in Jefferson City. Last season the Griffons won 15-5, 11-1 and 16-9.
• This season the Blues Tigers are just 1-23 overall and 0-20 in MIAA action. 
• They are hitting just .207 as a team with two players hitting over .300. Ben Stewart leads the way with a .351 batting average in 24 games while Josh Kennedy is hitting .315. Stewart has 26 hits with 19 RBI and four home runs. . 
• The Blue Tigers have 22 doubles with Kennedy leading the way with five. 
• On the bump the Blue Tigers have a 9.96 ERA.
• Ian Fuemmeler has the only victory for the Blue Tigers. He has pitched in nine games with a 10.66 ERA. Joe Jungmeyer leads the way with six starts in 34.2 innings pitched. He has a 5.71 EAR and an 0-6 record. 

GRIFF NOTES...(About 2014)
As a team the Griffons are on a little bit of a role winning seven of their last 11 games which includes winning two of four against Nebraska-Kearney last weekend in Kearney, Neb. As a team the Griffons are hitting .287 with Ryan Degner leading the way with a .349 average. Degner is second on the team in hits with 37, home runs with five and third in RBI with 25. He is second on the team with eight doubles and it tied with eight stolen bases. Trevor LaHonta leads the team in hits with 40 while David Chew leads the team in RBI with 28. Jake Schrader hit three home runs last weekend against Nebraska-Kearney and now has a team high eight on the season. On the bump the Griffons have been led by Tyler Sanders and Jake Jones. Sanders has thrown a team high 39.0 innings giving up just 13 earned runs while striking out 25. He has a 2-2 record with four saves. He has a 3.00 ERA allowing opponents to hit just .234 off of him. Jake Jones has a 4.50 ERA with a 3-2 record. He has made 10 appearances with four starts. He has struck out 21 batters in 26.0 innings of work. Mason Queen leads the Griffons in Ks with 37 while Dylan Roades leads the squad with a 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 417-321 overall and 285-212 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. 

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 285-212 under Verduzco since 2000 in MIAA play. Last 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 169-139. 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 5-9 on the road.

ON A NEUTRAL FIELD: 
Since 2001 the Griffons are 34-33 when playing on a neutral 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 Pittsburg State University Gorillas on April 11-13 in St. Joseph, Mo. The two teams play one nine inning game on Friday, April 11 with first pitch scheduled for 6 pm. On Saturday, April 12 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 1 pm.