ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Missouri Western beat Pittsburg State 7-6 on Thursday afternoon. The Griffons stunned Pittsburg State in the first game of the series with a seven-run inning in the bottom of the eighth to pull out the victory.

Missouri Western's late rally came in the bottom of the eighth inning when Nick Gawley started the inning off with a single to third base. Jeremy Alvarado reached on a fielder's choice and error by the first basemen. Brandon Downs continued the rally as he singled to center field, loading the bases for Alex Heuring. Heuring was able to reach on the second error of the inning to score Gawley from third.

The Griffons then drew consecutive walks to push the score to 6-3 in favor of the Gorillas. Senior David Glaude came to the plate with the bases loaded and delivered a double to left center to bring home three-runs and even the score at 6-6. Glaude was eventually moved to third and scored on a wild pitch, giving the Griffons a 7-6 lead.

Missouri Western allowed the Gorillas to gain an early lead giving up five runs in the first three innings. Weston Caindec was able to shut down the PSU offense. Caindec pitched 4.1 innings as he came in for relief in the third inning. He allowed just two hits and stuck out seven batters on the day. Preston Bailey came in to finish the game, picking up his second win of the year and striking out three batters.

The Griffons finished the day with seven different players scoring a run and seven different players getting a hit. Glaude, Gawley and Alvarado all contributed two-hits each in the game. 

The Griffons and Gorillas will have a double-header on Friday afternoon starting at 2 p.m.