MARYVILLE, Mo. — Thanks to a pair of clutch RBI hits and some insurance to boot in the 10th inning, Griffon Baseball tamed Northwest Missouri State 6-5 for the series win on Saturday at Bearcat Baseball Field.
Before Missouri Western used extra innings to win its first series of the season, the Griffons trailed 3-2 heading into the top of the seventh.
Jayden Singleton led off the inning with an infield hit to third, advancing to second base on a wild pitch and setting up a
Jared Munk infield hit to the pitcher. With the tying run 90 feet away,
Cale Sackewitz skied a sacrifice fly to right field, allowing Singleton to tag up and knot the game up at 3-3.
Fast forwarding to the 10th,
Brenden Andersen led off the inning with a walk on a 3-2 count, advancing to second base moments later when
Hunter Olson laid down a sac bunt.
Will Courtney immediately sent an RBI single up the middle in the very next at bat on the first pitch, scoring Andersen and putting MWSU ahead 4-3. Ensuing a Singleton walk and facing an 0-2 count,
Jared Munk mashed a two-run double down the left-field line, plating Courtney and Singleton to boost the Griffs' lead to 6-3.
Munk's insurance double proved to be the go-ahead difference, as Northwest's (8-26, 6-17 MIAA) Caden Diel brought Saturday's game to an exciting end. Doubling with the bases loaded, Diel looked on as only two runs scored. With the game-tying run racing home, Olson delivered a strike to shortstop
Jhonatan Pena, who then threw out Ryan Williams at the plate to put Northwest down for good.
NOTABLES
- Both Olson and Munk led the Griffons with two RBI apiece.
- Travis Wiese led batters at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a double.
- Pitcher Brayden Haug threw a career-high eight innings, only allotting two earned runs and three overall.
UP NEXT
Missouri Western (9-26, 6-17 MIAA) next takes on No. 18/21 Central Missouri (27-10, 18-5 MIAA) this Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Warrensburg, Missouri, at James R. Crane Stadium. The Mules ended their Saturday with a loss vs. No. 4/13 Missouri Southern but took the previous two games of the series. Central Missouri is 2-0 vs. MWSU this season.
