TOPEKA, Ks. — A career day from Alex Crouch from was enough for Griffon Baseball to salvage Sunday's third and final game of the series vs. Washburn.

Tied at 4-4 in the top of the ninth, Crouch shot a single up the middle to score Noah Wenger, the go-ahead run. It eventually led to Missouri Western's 6-4 victory over the Ichabods. The Griffons (5-20, 3-13 MIAA) tacked on another run in the ninth thanks to a bases-loaded walk by Jared Munk. 

Washburn (21-8, 12-4 MIAA) trailed 4-0 but wiped that deficit away in the fifth with a four-run inning. The Griffons built that early lead on the back of Crouch, who hit 3-for-4 with one home run, a double and four RBI. His solo shot to right field kicked off the scoring in the fourth inning and is his 11th of the season — tied for fourth most in the MIAA.

Riley Higgins also batted in a run with an RBI single to score Ryan Neise in the fifth. Crouch doubled in Hunter Rumachik and Higgins later on in the inning.

Jared Slater started the day on the mound, pitching four innings of shutout ball until the fifth when two errors by Crouch helped the Ichabods knot the game at 4-4. With a man on third, Slater shut  Washburn down by producing a flyout to end the inning. That was just one of 15 runners left on base by Washburn.

Missouri Western left 11 of their own on base but break a seven-game losing streak nonetheless. 

Up Next 

The Griffons take Monday off from competition and prepare for a one-game meetup with No. 6 Central Missouri (22-3, 16-0 MIAA) on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Warrensburg. The Mules are currently mowing through a 17-game winning streak, which includes a 6-2 win over MWSU on March 16 in St. Joseph.