ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Missouri Western softball (14-7, 3-1 MIAA) will at long last have the chance to play on its home field, as the Griffons welcome No. 6 Rogers State (17-4, 3-1 MIAA) and Northeastern State (6-16, 0-4 MIAA) this Thursday and Friday to the MWSU Spring Sports Complex.
Thursday's games vs. RSU are set for 2 and 4 p.m., while Friday's vs. NSU will start at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. All of the action will be broadcast on the Griffon Sports Network (GoGriffons.com/listen, Varsity Network App) and on the MIAA Network as well.
Schedule Change
The non-conference doubleheader against Upper Iowa originally set for this past Wednesday has been postponed and will be rescheduled for a later date. Due to the inclement weather, Western is now hosting No. 6 Rogers State on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., followed by Northeastern State on Friday with start times of 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
Last Time Out
Missouri Western softball earned a doubleheader sweep at Nebraska-Kearney Monday, taking game one 5-2 and winning the second game, 2-1 in eight innings at Dryden Park in Kearney.
Game One: Missouri Western 5 Nebraska-Kearney 2
Trailing 2-0 after the fourth, Missouri Western put up three runs in the top of the fifth to take the lead and the Griffons never looked back. Western added two more insurance runs in the top of the seventh.
Myah Dwyer went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a double.
Kalee Higdon hit a single shot home run in the seventh inning.
Bubba Hoelscher had a run scored to go with a double.
Meanwhile, another game - another complete game victory for
Sydney Rader (9-3). The senior went the distance, throwing 114 pitches, and striking out five while only allowing one earned run.
Game Two: Missouri Western 2 Nebraska-Kearney 1 (8 innings)
Nebraska-Kearney scored the first run in the second, but Missouri Western tied it at 1-1 in the fifth with an RBI single by
Rachel Barriga. With the game still tied in the eighth,
Sydney Young scored
Kalee Higdon on a single for the go-ahead run.
Ashlyn Finarty (3-0) meanwhile, logged her first complete game of the season, tossing 82 pitches in eight innings of one-hit ball, striking out three and walking just one.
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.
Rader's Last Hurrah
In her final go-around with Missouri Western, the fifth-year senior has been downright dominant in the circle. Rader currently ranks No. 1 in the MIAA in complete games (11), complete game shutouts (5), No. 2 in wins (9), innings pitched (77.2), No. 3 in ERA (1.26) and No. 4 in strikeouts (72).
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.
RSU + NSU lowdown
Rogers State figures to once again be a contender to win the conference and make a deep run in the national tournament. The Hillcats were preseason ranked No. 9 and picked by the MIAA's coaches to win the league, receiving seven first place votes.
RSU returns five all-MIAA players from a season ago – a season in which the Hillcats hosted a Super Regional after winning a Central Region championship.
This season, Rogers State leads the MIAA in batting average (.336), home runs (25) and slug percentage (.552). The Hillcats have won seven straight games against the Griffons, dating back to 2022.
Northeastern State looks to improve after a 10-35 record in 2024. It's a very new Riverhawks team with 14 newcomers in all. Missouri Western has won five games in a row against Northeastern and seven of the last eight overall.
What's Next?
Missouri Western is back on the road to face Augustana on Tuesday, March 18 and then at Central Missouri on Thursday, March 20.
