ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Missouri Western softball (7-6) heads back to Kansas this weekend, competing in the Midwest College Classic in Shawnee on Friday and Saturday at the Mid-America Sports Complex.

The Griffons will play two games on Friday and two more Saturday. They'll first play Minnesota State on Friday at 1:30 p.m. and Southwest Baptist right after at 4. On Saturday, MWSU faces Maryville at 1 and then Rockhurst at 4.

Last Time Out
Missouri Western bounced back on Tuesday with a 9-3 win over Wayne State (NE) at the Washburn Invitational after suffering a 4-2 loss to Missouri S&T the day before.

The Griffons got down 1-0 after the first inning, but went off for eight runs in the top of the fourth, sparked first by a two-run RBI single by Kennedy Preston. Bubba Hoelscher tacked on an RBI double, and Mackenzie DeVine followed that with an RBI single.

Sydney Young was hit by a pitch into bases loaded, and Sienna Reed walked into bases loaded to cap the eight-run frame.

Hoelscher notched another RBI double in the seventh inning for good measure. Hoelscher led the team Monday with three RBIs total. DeVine went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk. Young and Preston each finished with two RBIs.

In the circle, Sydney Rader (5-3) capped off a remarkable performance at the Washburn Invitational, as she went the full game and threw 127 pitches. Rader struck out six and walked four, allowing just two earned runs.
Rader picked up a pair of complete games victories this past week in Topeka.

Thompson Time
Missouri Western has begun a new chapter in its storied softball history, as head coach Nicole Thompson is in her first season as the seventh head coach in program history.

Hired last June, Thompson came to the Griffons from NCAA Division II Regis University in Colorado, and is fresh off a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Tournament championship and an NCAA South Central Regional appearance in 2024. In her five seasons as head coach at Regis, Thompson compiled a 132-101 overall record, leading the Rangers to 33 wins or more in each of her last three seasons. Her 2024 team swept its way to the RMAC Tournament title as a No. 5 seed and earned the program's first NCAA Tournament berth since 2015. The Rangers also then defeated #1 nationally ranked West Texas A&M in the tournament's opening round. 
 
Prior to Regis, Thompson spent three seasons as head softball coach at NAIA Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky.. Thompson compiled an overall record of 82-70, while her Appalachian Athletic Conference record was a remarkable 50-20. She guided her team to third-place finishes in 2017 and 2018, earning AAC Coach of the Year honors in 2017. 
 
Thompson had a unique start to her coaching career. Originally accepting a position as the Assistant Director for Communications at Union College in February 2016, Thompson served as the Interim Head Coach beginning in September 2016 before being named the full-time head coach.
  
Thompson was a dual-sport athlete in college, competing in both softball and basketball for NAIA Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas. As a softball player, she was a three-time All-KCAC First-Team selection at shortstop. Her team won two KCAC regular season championships and one KCAC Tournament title, while also making two NAIA National Tournament appearances (2012, 2013).

Joining Thompson on staff is pitching and catching coach Steffany Dickerson. Before MWSU, Dickerson was a graduate assistant at the University of Kansas and contributed to the Jayhawks' seven Top 25 victories in 2023 and '24.

Steffany was a standout starting pitcher at Missouri State who received numerous accolades, including MVC Pitcher of the Year and MVC All-Tournament MVP. She completed her collegiate career with an impressive ERA of 2.24 and 530 strikeouts.

Guess Who's Back
Missouri Western returns 11 players from a 2024 team that went 31-20 overall and 13-13 in the MIAA. The Griffons return seven of their top eight hitters from a season ago - all seven of whom started 43 games or more in 2024. Shortstop Kalee Higdon returns after garnering second-team all-MIAA honors last year. Outfielder Mackenzie DeVine is now a two-time all-MIAA selection, picking up honorable mention honors last season.

In the circle, the Griffons return three-time all-MIAA senior Sydney Rader, who earned honorable mention all-conference accolades last season. Rader went 15-7 last year, striking out 149 in 161.2 innings. MWSU also brings back starters in Harley Pruetting and Ashlyn Finarty. Finarty was honorable mention all-MIAA in 2024, while Pruetting was an honorable mention all-conference pitcher in 2023.

New Kids on the Block
Missouri Western added 10 new players to its roster in the offseason - five freshmen and six transfers. Joining Coach Thompson from Regis are C/UTL Rachel Barriga, catcher Sydney Young and outfielder Sienna Reed.

Barriga made 42 starts for Regis last year and batted .304. Young made 49 starts as a freshman last season at Regis, batting .275 on the year. Reed started a combined 103 games in two seasons at Regis, where she had a career batting average of .275 and a career slug percentage of .426. Reed was an honorable mention all-RMAC selection at Regis last season as well.

Outfielder Ella Fitzpatrick joins MWSU from Division I Lipscomb University. Fitzpatrick had also played at Iowa Western Community College, helping the Reivers to a NJCAA World Series Appearance in 2024. In that season, Fitzpatrick had a huge impact, batting .345 with a .593 slug. She scored 49 runs on 50 hits, including eight home runs.

A couple more JUCO stars join Missouri Western in 2025. Infielder Lauren Newlin had a terrific year last year at Central Arizona College, batting .343 in 40 games. Another infielder, shortstop Ayva McComas, joins MWSU from Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado, where she was an NJCAA All-American, collecting a combined 53 HRs and 159 RBIs in two seasons.

Two-Sport Stars
The Griffons added some pitching help as well, borrowing All-American thrower Makenzie Garr from MWSU Track and Field. Garr, in her sophomore year, is no stranger to softball. The St. Joseph native was an all-city and all-district pitcher for St. Joseph Central, helping the Indians to a district championship game appearance in 2022. She recorded 185 strikeouts in her senior season alone.

Missouri Western will also have Griffon soccer keeper Morgan Byrd playing infield this spring. Byrd had a terrific softball career at Papillion-La Vista High School in Nebraska, helping the Monarchs to state titles in 2020 and 2023. She earned all-state honors in 2023 as well.

Who We Playing?
The Griffons see more GLVC flavor this weekend in Southwest Baptist (6-6), Maryville (7-8) and Rockhurst (1-5), while they get a regional test against Minnesota State (5-3) to lead things off on Friday.

Minnesota State competed in the Washburn Invite as well this past week, and won three straight games against Emporia State, No. 13 Central Oklahoma and Central Missouri.

Missouri Western has a long history with former MIAA member Southwest Baptist, but the Griffons have won five straight against the Bearcats since 2018.

MWSU is 5-0 against Maryville all time, including an 8-0 win over the Saints this past Sunday in five innings at the Washburn Invite.

Rockhurst's lone win so far this season came against Northwest Missouri State this past Tuesday at the Washburn Invitational.

Rockhurst's first six games have all been against MIAA teams, including bouts with No. 8 Rogers State and No. 13 Central Oklahoma. The Hawks will play six total games in Shawnee this weekend – all against MIAA competition as well.

What's Next?
Missouri Western will have its first MIAA games of the season on Saturday, March 8 when they travel for a doubleheader at Fort Hays State. Those games are set to start at 12 and 2 p.m.