NCAA CENTRAL REGIONAL PREVIEW | St. Cloud, Minnesota
Thursday, May 19
1:30 p.m. - #5 Missouri Western (38-18) vs. #4 Arkansas at Monticello (35-14)
Friday, May 20
TBA - # 5 Missouri Western vs. TBA
 
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ST. JOSEPH – The Griffon Baseball season continues into the NCAA Division II Central Regional this week. Missouri Western earned the fifth seed in the regional to be played at St. Cloud, Minnesota. The Griffons will open regional play with fourth seeded Arkansas at Monticello on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. and will play at least one more game on Friday.
 
SCOUTING THE GRIFFONS
Missouri Western is making its third all-time appearance in the regional and first since 2013. The Griffons finished the regular season fourth in the MIAA standings and finished as the runner-up to Central Missouri in the MIAA Tournament last weekend. The 38 wins this season are the second most in program history. The Griffons have broken program records this year for runs (477), hits (656), home runs (65), RBIs (443) and walks (245).
 
Missouri Western is batting .331 as a team, led by first team All-MIAA shortstop Landon Mason's .413 average. First team All-MIAA second baseman David Glaude has his average up to .404. Glaude leads the team in hits (88), doubles (22), triples (6) and RBIs (74). Jeremy Alavarado leads the team with 13 home runs and Orencio Fisher's 28 stolen bases are a team-high.
 
At the top of the rotation for Missouri Western is third team All-MIAA selection Richard Peoples. The senior is 10-3 with a 5.63 ERA over a team-high 88 innings. Also in the rotation, Weston Caindec is 6-3 with a 4.30 ERA and 65 strikeouts. Alex Clavet is 5-3 with a 4.62 ERA and Evan Jones is 6-1 with a 5.15 ERA. Preston Bailey earned honorable mention All-MIAA honors in his first year at Missouri Western. The reliever has a 5-1 record with four saves and a team-low 3.61 ERA. He's limited batters to a .221 average with 67 strikeouts in 57 innings of work. Conner Schweienebart has transitioned from starter to reliever and picked up his second and third saves of the season last weekend at the MIAA Tournament.
 
In his 17^th season leading Missouri Western, Buzz Verduzco picked up win No. 500 at the MIAA Tournament with a 7-3 win over Emporia State in an elimination game. Verduzco is the second head coach in the program's 46 years. He is assisted by former Griffons Tony Loeffler and Justin Parrish.
 
SCOUTING ARKANSAS AT MONTICELLO
The GAC Tournament Champions are one win away from breaking the program record for wins in a season. The Weevils outscored GAC opponents 52-16 in the tournament, including a 14-2 win over Henderson State in the championship game.
 
UAM is batting. 296, led by Corey Wood's .355 batting average. The Weevils average 7.3 runs per game compared to Missouri Western's 8.51, but allow just 4.56 per game with a staff ERA of 4.18. Wood also leads the team in hits (66), RBIs (79), doubles (15) and home runs (22). UAM batters have struck out 345 times this season while drawing 235 walks.
 
Branden Chambers is 11-0 on the mound with a 3.23 ERA with 71 strikeouts in 92 innings. Zach McKnight is 8-2 with a 4.02 ERA. Grant Black is 4-4 with a 4.46 ERA. At the back end of the pen, Dawson Moser has a 1.52 ERA and nine saves in 21 relief appearances.
 
John Harvey is in his sixth season as the head coach at UAM. Harvey is 156-123 at UAM and has the two winningest seasons in program history (2016 & 2014). He has also led the Weevils to their only two NCAA regional appearances.