TAHLEQUAH, Ok. — Just mere moments after Griffon Baseball battled back into a tie, the RiverHawks tore Friday's series-opening game open wide open to win 9-4 thanks to a late grand slam,
Missouri Western (5-22, 3-15 MIAA) trailed 3-0 going into the top of the eighth but played small ball to bring things even.
Hunter Olson got the Griffons on the board with a single to left that scored
Ryan Neise. Olson drew an errant throw from pitcher Cohen Bell (3-0) that scored
Will Courtney and put the game-tying run just 90 feet away from home at third.
Alex Crouch delivered in the clutch with an RBI sac fly to bring home Courtney and the game to a gridlock. However, Northeastern State (19-12, 9-9 MIAA) made sure that didn't last long in the bottom half of the frame with a six-run, game-shattering explosion. Trailing 5-3, Griffon pitcher
Samson Holcomb (1-3) was taken to left-center field by Tucker Dunlap for a game-sealing grand slam.
The Griffons tacked on a run in the ninth with
Zach Hanlan's solo homer to left field — his fourth of the season — but fell soon after.
Next Up
Missouri Western and Northeastern State is back are again on Saturday at 2 p.m.
