Sydney Rader
Kari Ham
No. 4 Griffs prepare for rematch with No. 5 RiverHawks in 1st round of MIAA Tourney.

Softball

2022 MIAA Softball Championship Primer - Griffon Edition

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Griffon Softball is officially the No. 4 seed in the MIAA Softball Championship and will face No. 5 Northeastern State this Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. in Edmond, Oklahoma at Gerry Pinkston Stadium.

THE MATCHUP

Northeastern State comes into the matchup with a 28-23 overall record and 16-10 mark in the MIAA. Missouri Western finished the regular season on an eight-game winning streak, submitting them with a 27-20 record while going 17-9 in the conference. The two teams split a doubleheader earlier this season on April 10 in St. Joseph. 

Missouri Western won game one, 7-0, while Northeastern State took game two, 5-1. Missouri Western was just 18-19 and 8-8 in the conference at the time. Since then, the Griffons are 9-1 inside the MIAA while the RiverHawks are 7-5. 

Since 2012, MWSU is 21-5 vs. NESU with wins as large as 12-0 (May 3, 2014). The Griffons won 14 in a row vs. the RiverHawks spanning from 2012-2017. After a doubleheader split in 2017, Missouri Western leads the series, 5-4. 

The odds-on favorite to start in the circle for MWSU is sophomore stud Sydney Rader (17-7), who is third in the MIAA with 176 strikeouts. Both Rader and fellow sophomore Natalie Kissinger are fifth and seventh in the MIAA with ERAs of 2.57 and 2.75. Rader is also fourth in the league with 161 innings pitched and fifth in opposing batting average, holding enemy batters to just .229.

Rader shut out the 'Hawks on April 10 in game one's 7-0 final. The sophomore sent NESU packing with nine punchouts and only allowed three hits while allowing zero other baserunners. In Rader's final two starts on the regular season, the Griffon went the distance both times with 17 total strikeouts and only two earned runs given up.

Probable RiverHawks starters Savannah Evans' opposing batting average is .231, landing her seventh in the league. Evans is 10-10 with a 2.65 ERA, good for sixth in the MIAA. Evans held the Griffons to one run on five hits in Northeastern's 5-1 game two victory on April 10.

Evans pitched five innings vs. Nebraska-Kearney on Friday, April 29, striking out seven batters but giving up four runs and four walks. The 'Hawks won, 9-5, and are winners of their last five with two doubleheader sweeps of UNK (23-25, 13-13 MIAA) and Fort Hays State (23-20-1, 9-17 MIAA). 

Missouri Western's overall team ERA is 2.97 while NESU's is 3.66. The Griffs as a team are hitting .271 while the 'Hawks are tick below at .270. However, Northeastern is second in the conference with 59 homers while MWSU sports eighth place with 31. 

Addy Wolfe is dangerous bat to look out for in the Northeastern lineup. Usually batting fifth, Wolfe is hitting .331 with 10 home runs and RBI. The sophomore has notched a hit a six of her last seven games but has only found more than base knock once in that timeframe. 

Emma Hoffart, the newly-crowned MWSU Female Student Athlete of the Year, is slashing a .340 average with a team-high of nine trips over the fence 45 RBI. The senior also leads with the Griffs with 94 total bases. Hoffart is typically penciled in to bat third in the Griffon lineup.

The Griffons are led by first-year head honcho Joe Yegge while the RiverHawks are manned at the helm by Clay Davis, who is currently in is 10th year with NESU. 

THE CHAMPIONSHIP SEEDS
No. 1 seed – Washburn — 42-11, 24-2 MIAA
No. 2 seed – Central Oklahoma — 44-8, 23-3 MIAA
No. 3 seed – Rogers State — 43-9, 20-6 MIAA
No. 4 seed – Missouri Western — 27-20, 17-9 MIAA
No. 5 seed – Northeastern State — 28-23, 16-10 MIAA
No. 6 seed – Missouri Southern — 26-23, 14-12 MIAA
No. 7 seed – Nebraska Kearney — 23-25, 13-13 MIAA
No. 8 seed – Emporia State — 24-28, 13-13 MIAA

THE BRACKET
Tournament Schedule:
Thursday, May 5
        GAME 1 | 11:00 AM | No. 1 seed Washburn vs. No. 8 seed Emporia State – LIVE STATS | WATCH
        GAME 2 | 1:30 PM | No. 4 seed Missouri Western vs. No. 5 seed Northeastern State – LIVE STATS | WATCH
        GAME 3 | 4:00 PM | No. 3 seed Rogers State vs. No. 6 seed Missouri Southern – LIVE STATS | WATCH
        GAME 4 | 6:30 PM | No. 2 seed Central Oklahoma vs. No. 7 seed Nebraska Kearney – LIVE STATS | WATCH

Friday, May 6
        GAME 5 | 11:00 AM | Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 – LIVE STATS | WATCH
        GAME 6 | 1:30 PM | Loser Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 – LIVE STATS | WATCH
        GAME 7 | 4:00 PM | Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 – LIVE STATS | WATCH
        GAME 8 | 6:30 PM | Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 – LIVE STATS | WATCH

Saturday, May 7 
        GAME 9 | 10:00 AM | Winner of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 8 – LIVE STATS | WATCH
        GAME 10 | 12:30 PM | Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 7 – LIVE STATS | WATCH
        GAME 11 | 3:00 PM | Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8 – LIVE STATS | WATCH
        GAME 12 | 5:30 PM | Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10 – LIVE STATS | WATCH
        GAME 13 | 8:00 PM | Winner of Game 12 vs. Loser of Game 11 – LIVE STATS | WATCH

Sunday, May 8 
        GAME 14 | 1:30 PM | Winner of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 13 – LIVE STATS | WATCH
        GAME 15 | If Necessary  

THE TICKETS + FOR THE FANS
  • Costs: $30 Team All-Tournament Pass or $10 per game pass for adults and students
  • Click here for tickets
  • Passcode: Griffons2022Softball
  • Per game passes will be available pending upon seating available on a per game basis.
  • If there are no open seats available for any one individual game, the $10 per game pass will not be available
  • Please note passes will no longer be available for sale after 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, May 3.
  • Fan Parking | Things To Do | Hotels | Dining | Map to Central Oklahoma
     
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Players Mentioned

Emma  Hoffart

#3 Emma Hoffart

C/INF
5' 6"
Senior
R/R
Natalie  Kissinger

#9 Natalie Kissinger

P
5' 5"
Sophomore
R/R
Sydney  Rader

#15 Sydney Rader

P
5' 7"
Sophomore
R/R

Players Mentioned

Emma  Hoffart

#3 Emma Hoffart

5' 6"
Senior
R/R
C/INF
Natalie  Kissinger

#9 Natalie Kissinger

5' 5"
Sophomore
R/R
P
Sydney  Rader

#15 Sydney Rader

5' 7"
Sophomore
R/R
P