THIS WEEK IN GRIFFON BASEBALL
MIAA Baseball Championships I May 11-14 I Joplin, Missouri (Warren Turner Field)
Bracket I
Tournament Program I
Ticket Information
Thursday, May 11 – 12:30 p.m.
#2 Missouri Western (29-18) vs
#7 Northwest Missouri State (31-18)
Live Stats I
Live Video I
Live Audio
ST. JOSEPH – After winning 13 of its final 14 regular season games, the Missouri Western baseball team begins the postseason as the No. 2 seed in the MIAA Baseball Championships.
The Griffons open the tournament with rival Northwest Missouri State which is the No. 7 seed. Missouri Western took two of three from the Bearcats in the regular season.
FAN INFO
The tournament is double elimination, with the Griffons playing one game Thursday and at least one game Friday. Tickets can be purchased online or at the gate. Single-day adult tickets are $12 and all-tournament passes can be purchased for $32. A surcharge will be assessed for credit card purchases at the gate. All games will have live stats provided for free at the link above. All games will also have free audio streaming via the Griffon Sports Network and pay-per-view video streaming via the MIAA Digital Sports Network.
HOT, HOT, HOT
Missouri Western enters the tournament as one of the hottest teams in all of Division II. The Griffons completed an incredible turnaround by going 14-2 after dropping to 15-16 on April 5. The team's hot streak included a nine-game winning streak and a four-game winning streak to end the season that was highlighted by the program's first three-game series sweep of Central Missouri and a 12-2 run-rule win over regionally ranked Drury.
THE THREE MUSKETEERS
All for one and one for all, Missouri Western features one of the most daunting weekend rotations in the MIAA with its top-three starters all ranked among the top-10 in the MIAA in ERA.
Nate Hunter leads the league in that category with his 2.34 and
Dustin Agnew is second with a 2.35.
Richard Peoples ranks ninth in the MIAA with his 3.36 ERA. The three combined to go 21-4 pitched a combined 234.2 innings, an average of almost eight innings per start. Peoples led the MIAA with 96.1 innings pitched and five complete games.
THE MAYTAG MEN
All those innings from the top three starters turned the Griffon relievers into an effective, but seldom needed crew. Over the final 16 games of the regular season, MWSU relievers through just 34 innings. They got some help from Hunter and Peoples, who together through an additional eight innings of relief.
OFFENSIVE WEAPONS
The bats clicked down the stretch as well, with Missouri Western batting .312 over the final 16 regular season games. During that stretch, Missouri Western out-scored opponents 132-59, hit 42 doubles, six triples and 16 home runs. Five Griffons batted better than .302 down that stretch, including a .411 average from
Levi Schreiner in the 14 games he played down the stretch.
Nick Gawley hit .383 with nine doubles and stole 14 bases in 15 attempts over the last 16 games.
David Glaude slugged .661 during the run with 24 RBIs, four home runs and four doubles.
FRIDAY SCENARIOS
If Missouri Western defeats Northwest Missouri, Thursday, the Griffons will play the winner of the No. 3 Lindenwood versus No. 6 Southwest Baptist game at 4 p.m. Friday. A loss Thursday will pit the Griffons against the loser of the same game at 9 a.m. on Friday.
