ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — After overcoming an early 1-0 deficit and taking a two-run advantage, Griffon Baseball dropped a heartbreaker of a marathon vs. Pittsburg State, falling 4-3 after 13 innings at the Spring Sports Complex.
After Pittsburg State (11-6, 3-2 MIAA) etched a run in the top of the second, Missouri Western (3-9, 0-5 MIAA) answered back with a three-run fourth.
Hunter Rumachik tied the game with a solo home run to left field, notching his second shot of the season. After a
Hunter Olson double,
Riley Higgins hammered his first homer of the season, sending a two-run blast over the left-field fence to give the Griffons a 3-1 lead.
A pair of RBI singles from Nixon Brannan and Joe Hamilton halted MWSU's momentum, tying up the game at 3-3. Both team then embarked upon four more innings of scoreless baseball, with pitcher
David Steffen tossing 5.2 innings of relief. Brannan led off the 13th by being hit by Steffen, eventually reaching home thanks to a Ryan Koval RBI single, giving Pitt its first lead since the bottom of fourth.
Travis Wiese got the Griffons back in business in the bottom half of the frame with a leadoff single to third, setting up a base hit to right by Humachik.
Bryson McArn then pushed Rumachik to second and Wiese to third with a sacrifice bunt, putting the tying run just 90 feet away with only out recorded.
Jerry Nix reached on a fielder's choice, but Wiese was thrown out by shortstop Cade Clemons, cornering the Griffons to their final out.
With two men on base,
Jackson Bryant jumped out the first pitch he saw and sent a flyout to right field, giving the Gorillas the early series win.
NOTABLES
- With Rumachik and Higgins going deep, this marks the Griffons' first multi-home run game of the season.
- Higgins also belted a double in the loss.
- Jacob Weirich went 7.2 innings in a quality start, striking out seven batters while only giving up two earned runs.
UP NEXT
Missouri Western and Pitt State wrap up the three-game series on Monday 12 p.m. back at the Spring Sports Complex.
