TOPEKA, Kan. — Griffon Softball heads south to Topeka to begin the MIAA Tournament, where they will first face No. 3 seed Rogers State on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. with a spot in the winner's semifinal on the line.
KEEPING UP WITH THE GRIFFONS
Converge of Missouri Western's time at the MIAA Tournament can be found on the St. Joseph Post, with "The Voice of the Griffons" Tommy Rezac on the call. Click the tab above to listen.
SERIOUS STAR POWER
The sixth-seeded Griffons (35-18, 14-12 MIAA) are led by conference player of the year
Sydni Hawkins, as well as five other All-MIAA selections.
Sam Pederson and
Mackenzie DeVine were named to the second team, while
Harley Pruetting,
Kennedy Preston and
Abby Dickey were all named honorable mentions. Hawkins' second POTY award is well earned, as she batted a league-best .460, racking up 86 overall hits and 20 doubles on the season.
HEATING UP
Missouri Western seems to be getting things figured out at the right time. After dropping four of five games two weeks ago, the Griffons have won five in a row and are starting to get hot while heading into postseason play. The MIAA Tournament is double-elimination, so the Griffons have some wiggle room. However, taking the league's second-longest-active winning streak into the conference tournament helps.
SCOUTING NO. 9 ROGERS STATE: MAY 3, 5:30 PM
The Hillcats (41-10, 18-8) have been on a tear this season, winning the second-most overall games in the conference. Eight of the 10 losses for the reining NCAA Division National Champions have come in the conference season, but the Hillcats have only lost four times in the last month. The Hillcats boast a conference-best 1.56 ERA as a team, putting them nearly .75 runs above the next team. In fact, RSU is one of only 11 teams to have given up less than 100 runs in Division II this season.
Who to Watch
Bridgett Morales leads the Hillcats with 54 hits this season and is tied for the team lead in home runs with eight. She has 46 RBI, 15 more than anyone else on the team and is second in doubles with 11. Overall, five different RSU players are batting over .300, and six different Hillcats have more than 20 RBI this season.
In the circle, the Hillcats are led by Sara Llamas-Howel, who was named MIAA Pitcher of the Year. Llamas-Howell has a 1.08 ERA and is 21-2 this season. She has 106 strikeouts and only 99 hits to her name this season.
She is joined by Jade Sanders, who has a 2.07 ERA and is 15-5. Sanders also has more strikeouts than hits, punching out 126 batters while giving up 115 hits.
ON THIS DAY IN GRIFFON SOFTBALL: MAY 3
Box Score
The last time the Griffons played on May 3, they beat Truman State 5-3 in the opening round of the 2013 MIAA Tournament. Maegan Roemmich led the Griffons with two RBI while Bre Fleschner tabbed three runs with three hits to boot. Missouri Western Hall of Famer Jackie Bishop pitched all seven innings, striking out seven Bulldogs in the process. The Griffons went on to reach the MIAA Championship Game that year.
