WEEKEND PREVIEW
Griffon Baseball (15-8, 7-5 MIAA) vs. #19 Emporia State (18-5, 10-2 MIAA)
Tuesday, Mar. 22; 4 p.m.
Spring Sports Complex – St. Joseph, Missouri
Live Stats | MWSU Season Stats | MIAA StandingsST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Griffon Baseball is back in action on Tuesday as they welcome No. 19 Emporia State for a single game, starting at 4 p.m.
Previewing Missouri WesternMWSU is now 15-8 overall with a 7-5 conference record. The Griffons were able to salvage a 12-2 victory this past Sunday afternoon against #21 Missouri Southern. Missouri Western fell in the first two games of the series against Missouri Southern after winning eight straight games.
As a team, the Griffons are hitting .333 through 23 games this season which is good enough for second in the MIAA. MWSU has tallied 29 home runs this year along with 170 RBIs. The Griffons have also drawn the most walks in the MIAA with 116.
Jeremy Alvarado and
Cosimo Cannella are hitting .395 and .393, respectively to lead the Griffon offense. Cannella leads the MIAA with 37 RBIs this year.
Orencio Fisher and
Nick Gawley add speed on the base paths, stealing a combined 23 of 25 bases this year.
On the mound, Missouri Western has limited opponents to just 15 home runs and a .308 batting average. They have struck out a total of 131 batters and walked 112.
Evan Jones is currently 3-0 on the year with a 2.57 ERA, placing him sixth in the MIAA in that category.
Preston Bailey and
Jared Lloyd have a combined record of 5-0. Bailey leads the team with 27 strikeouts.
Previewing Emporia StateEmporia State owns an 18-5 overall record and 10-2 conference record. ESU has won four straight games including a sweep of Fort Hays State this past weekend. The Hornets are currently 9-4 on the road this season.
Offensively, Emporia State leads the MIAA in batting average (.351), runs (213), hits (286) and RBIs (196) through its first 23 games. 11 players for the Hornets are hitting at least .300 on the year all playing in at least 14 games. Evan Koehler has 12 home runs and 34 RBIs this year, sitting in the top-2 in each category. Five other players have at least three home runs for the Hornets this year. Levi Ashmore leads the team with 30 runs scored and 34 hits this year.
On the mound, Tyler Stubblefield is 5-0 with a 2.23 ERA. He leads the team with 50 strikeouts and 44.1 innings pitched. The Hornets also rely on Jordan Plank, recording 32 strikeouts and allowing just 10 earned runs. Opponents have a .255 batting average against the Emporia State pitching staff.
