ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Griffon Baseball (5-5) opens conference play on the road this weekend with a trip to Pittsburg, Kansas to face No. 4 Pittsburg State (10-0).
The three-game series at Al Ortolani Field starts on Friday at 2 p.m. with Saturday and Sunday's games each set for 1 p.m. The games will be available to watch on the MIAA Network with a subscription.
Where We Left Off
Griffon Baseball secured back-to-back series victories this past Sunday at the Spring Sports Complex in St. Joseph, taking the three-game series from St. Cloud State. The Griffons split the day's doubleheader, rallying for a 9-8 walk-off win in game one before dropping a 5-3 decision in game two.
Game 1: MWSU 9 St. Cloud State 8
The Huskies struck first with a solo home run in the opening inning and added two more runs in the second to build a 3-0 advantage.
MWSU responded in the second when Issac Huettl doubled to left field, driving in Miguel Cantu to make it 3-1. In the third, Jack Mausser singled to left field to score Luke Parmentier, trimming the deficit to 3-2.
The Griffons evened the score in the fourth as Parmentier drew an RBI walk that brought home Issac Sobieszczyk. Later in the inning, a wild pitch allowed Juan Guardado to score, giving MWSU a 4-3 lead.
Huettl came through again in the fifth with an RBI double to left center, plating Cantu and extending the Griffon lead to 5-3. St. Cloud State answered with a four-run sixth inning. An RBI single tied the game before a three-run triple pushed the Huskies ahead 7-5. A wild pitch added another run, making it 8-5.
The Griffons began their comeback in the eighth when Luke Shannahan homered to right field, cutting the deficit to 8-6.
In the ninth, MWSU completed the rally. Cantu singled to right field to score Dylan Coty to make it a one-run game. Huettl followed with an RBI single that plated Blake Venneman to tie the game at 8-8. Moments later, Shannahan delivered the game-winner, singling to right field to bring home Mausser and seal the 9-8 win.
Ben Ayala (W, 1-1) tossed 4.0 innings in relief, giving up six hits and four earned runs while striking out five and not issuing a walk on 56 pitches.
Game 2: St. Cloud State 5 MWSU 3
MWSU opened the scoring in the first when Cantu drew an RBI walk, allowing Mausser to score to put the Griffons in front 1-0.
St. Cloud State answered in the second with a two-run homer and later added a sac fly in the inning to move ahead 3-1. The Huskies extended their lead with a solo homer in the fifth and an RBI single in the sixth to make it 5-1.The Griffons answered in the bottom of the sixth. Shannahan stole second and Cantu stole third, and both scored on a catcher's throwing error into left field, trimming the deficit to 5-3.
MWSU threatened but could not plate another run down the stretch as St. Cloud State secured the second game of the doubleheader
Season Outlook
Griffon Baseball was picked to finish 10th out of 13 teams in the MIAA this season, per the preseason coaches' poll. MoWest received 50 total points in the voting, slotted behind Northwest Missouri State in 9th and ahead of 11th place Northeastern State.
With just seven total players back from the 2025 team, coach Keeran and his staff signed 28 new players in the offseason – all transfers.
Griffon Baseball is coming off of a 14-33 record in 2025 with a 12-24 mark in MIAA play. MoWest narrowly missed out on a trip to the MIAA Baseball tournament – something the program hasn't qualified for since 2019. The Griffons also seek their first winning season since 2018, and their first NCAA tournament bid since 2017.
New Griffs in Town
Keeran and his staff signed 16 transfers from four-year institutions and 12 from the junior college level. MoWest's signing class ranked in the top three for NCAA Division II portal rankings, according to 64 analytics, while also being ranked inside the top 100 for all four-year schools.
Of the 28 new players, 15 are position players and 13 are pitchers. Twelve of the transfers come from NCAA Division I, 12 from two-year colleges, two from fellow NCAA Division II schools and one from the NAIA level.
Looking Ahead
The Griffons have MIAA action at home against Central Oklahoma February 27-March 1. That first game is set to start at 2 p.m. March will feature a full slate of conference action. The Griffons start March with an MIAA road series at No. 2 Central Missouri, followed by a single non-conference home game against Truman State.
Conference play continues with home series against Fort Hays State, a single game vs. Emporia State and a home series vs. Newman, while the Griffons also travel for a series at Northeastern State, with single games at Northwest and Emporia State.
April features several key matchups, as the Griffons host Washburn, a single game vs. Northwest, non-conference home and away games vs. Rockhurst, a single game vs. Emporia State and a regular season finale series at home vs. Rogers State.
MoWest also travels in April for conference series at Missouri Southern and Arkansas–Fort Smith, along with a single game at Northwest.
Keeran's Coaching Corner
Michael Keeran joined MoWest in June 2025 after a successful two-year run as head coach at Northern Oklahoma College (NOC) in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, where he achieved an impressive record of 92-28 (.770) and a national ranking as high as No. 4. In 2025, he was honored as the Region 2 West Division Coach of the Year.
During his time at NOC, Keeran developed over 20 players who advanced to compete at the NCAA Division I level, including several NJCAA Division II All-Americans. His high-octane offense contributed to the Mavericks' ranking in the top 10 nationally in hits (641), RBIs (536) and runs scored (606) in 2025.
Before NOC, Keeran served for one season as recruiting coordinator at NCAA Division I Western Illinois. He was also head coach at Bismarck State College in North Dakota from 2020-22, where the Mystics won conference championships in both '21 and '22, along with a regional title in '22. Under Keeran's guidance, BSC posted an overall record of 69-18 (.793) and were consistently ranked in the Top 25, achieving a high of No. 2 in NJCAA Division 2.
Keeran's career record as a collegiate head coach stands at 165-49 (.771).
From 2018-22, Keeran was a head coach in various summer collegiate baseball leagues, boasting a record of 171-38 (.818). His teams were crowned regular-season champions each year and clinched postseason titles in four out of five seasons (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022). Keeran earned Coach of the Year accolades in the Pioneer Collegiate Baseball League from 2018-20 and was Expedition League Coach of the Year award in 2022.
In 2019, Keeran served as Recruiting Coordinator at NAIA Valley City State University (N.D.), leading the Vikings to a runner-up finish in the conference and their best postseason performance in school history.
In 2018, Keeran was an assistant coach at Grinnell College (IA), helping the Pioneers to a 24-14 record. From 2013-16, Keeran was an assistant at Clear Lake High School in Iowa, where the Lions claimed State Championships in 2013, '15 and '16, compiling an overall record of 129-27 (.827) in that time.
