JOPLIN, Mo. — Griffon Baseball's debut at the MIAA/GLVC Crossover caught a snag against the University Illinois-Springfield, a team that received votes in the latest DII poll.

The Prairie Stars won 4-0 on the back of strong pitching that struck out 19 Missouri Western batters. The scoring started early in the bottom of the first when UIS scored two unearned runs off of junior pitcher Jacob Weirich — who struck out three Prairie Starts and only gave up one earned run. An RBI single in the third and bases loaded RBI walk in seventh put UIS up 4-0.

The Griffons were held to just two hits but found some moxie on the mound with 11 strikeouts of their own. Seven of those belonged to junior pitcher Matt Kesel, who let it rip from the rubber for four innings out of the bullpen. After matching his season's total before today, Kesel leads the Griffons with 14 K's, which is the fourth most in the MIAA this season.

Next Up

Day two of the MIAA/GLVC Crossover starts back up again when MWSU (1-6) meets Quincy (0-0) at 6 p.m. on Sunday. The Hawks handed the Griffons a 7-2 loss last time they played on March 3, 2020 in Quincy, Illinois.