Buzz retirement 2023
Arianne Boma
Head Coach Buzz Verduzco rides off into the sunset as MWSU's all-time winningest head coach.
4
Mo. Southern St. MO. SOUT 38-12
15
Winner Mo. Western St. MO. WEST 15-32
Mo. Southern St. MO. SOUT
38-12
4
Final
15
Mo. Western St. MO. WEST
15-32
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Mo. Southern St. MO. SOUT 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 4 9 2
Mo. Western St. MO. WEST 1 0 0 7 2 3 2 15 16 0

W: Steffen, David (1-3) L: K. Moore (8-3)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Riley Boyd

Griffons send Verduzco out with walk-off win vs. No. 16 Southern

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Missouri Western Baseball finished out its season with a 15-4 win over No. 16/12 Missouri Southern on Sunday, closing the book on Head Coach Buzz Verduzco's historic career with an exclamation point at the Spring Sports Complex.

The Griffons (15-32, 11-22 MIAA) used a seven-run fourth inning to blow past Missouri Southern, playing spoiler for the Lions' late push for the conference championship. David Steffen came away with the win, throwing six innings and giving up four runs on eight hits. Matt Kesel finished the game off for the Griffons, who won the game in seven innings due to the 10-run-mercy rule.

The Griffons were down 2-1 going into the bottom of the fourth inning due to two solo home runs from MSSU in the third and fourth inning. Hunter Rumachik tied the game with an RBI single in the fourth, setting up Travis Wiese with a bases-loaded opportunity. Wiese did not let the moment slip away, hammering a grand slam to deep center field to put the Griffons up 6-2.

Two batters later, Jerry Nix crushed the Griffons' second home run of the afternoon, a two-run to put MWSU up 8-2. Wiese tacked on another RBI in the fifth inning, and Ryan Neise drove Wiese in just one batter later to push the Griffons up 10-2. Southern was able to pull a run back in the top of the sixth inning before surrendering another three runs to the Griffons, including yet another Wiese RBI in the bottom of the sixth.

The bottom of the seventh started with a Brenden Andersen double, who eventually came home when Hunter Olson stepped up and smoked a walk-off home run to left-center field to secure the 15-4 win. 

THANK YOU, BUZZ
Already MWSU's all-time winningest coach, Verduzco ends his career in St. Joseph with a 629-546 overall record, giving him the second-most victories in MIAA history. In Verduzco''s 23 seasons at the helm, the Griffons went to 13 MIAA Tournaments, made four NCAA Tournaments and won the 2013 MIAA Regular Season Championship, earning him the honor of being named that year's MIAA Coach the Year.

NOTABLES
  • Wiese finished with a career-high five RBI, while Olson finished with four.
  • The Griffons tallied two triples and three home runs, both season-high marks.
  • Nine different Griffons scored a run in the win, and six of them scored two runs. 
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