ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Winners of five of their last six games, Griffon Baseball returns home to host their MIAA opener against Northeastern State in a three-game series at the Spring Sports Complex.

WHERE TO WATCH
All home Griffon Baseball (7-3) games can be streamed on the MIAA Network.

SKIPPER SYNOPSIS
After serving as an assistant coach in 2023, Damian Stambersky comes in with a young head-coaching record of 7-3. His adversary is Sunny Golloway, a fellow first-year head coach. Before Golloway was hired as the head coach at NSU, he was the head coach at East Central University for one year where he guided the Tigers to the program's most wins since 2017.

NOTABLES

• Western is coming off back-to-back first series wins for the first since 2019. 
• The series win at Drury is also Western's first road series win since 2022.
• The Griffons are sixth in the MIAA standings.
• Through 10 games, Western's pitching staff now sits fifth in the MIAA with a team ERA of 4.30. 
• The Griffons are tied for second in the MIAA with seven triples.
• The pitching staff has only given up three home run through 10 games, the second-lowest number in the MIAA. 
• Western's pen leads the MIAA with five saves.
• Sophomore infielder Jackson Bryant is fifth in the MIAA with a batting average of .452. Senior outfielder Ryan Koval is ninth thanks to a slash of .429.
• Koval is also tied for seventh with 15 hits, and he is tied for second with two triples.
• Bryant is also eighth in the MIAA with 13 RBI. 
• Senior pitcher Brayden Haug is second in the MIAA with an ERA of 0.69.

SCOUTING NORTHEASTERN STATE | FEB. 22-24
After starting the season 0-4, Northeastern went on an eight-game winning streak that ended with a 14-6 loss to No. 23 Missouri Southern on Feb. 20 in Joplin, Missouri. The RiverHawks (8-5) are just 1-1 on the road despite holding a 7-0 record at home. Northeastern has only played one three-game series this season, sweeping Southern Nazarene back on Feb. 9-10.

Who to Watch
Junior infielder Tyson Fourkiller seventh in the MIAA with a batting average of .450. Meanwhile, senior infielder C.D. White leads the MIAA with 26 RBI, and senior outfielder Isaiah Keller is sixth with 16 ribbies. White is also tied for third in the conference with three home runs. 

Senior pitcher CJ Briley is tied for third in the MIAA with 22 strikeouts. He is 2-1 on the mound for NSU, throwing the most innings on the team with 14. Junior pitcher Christian Jackson is second on the team with 16 punchouts. 

First Pitch Times
Friday, Feb. 22 | 4 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 23 | 2 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 24 | 1 p.m.