ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Griffon Softball (4-0) heads back to the Lone Star State this weekend, playing five games in the George and Ola McCorkle Challenge hosted by Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas.
MoWest will start by facing Texas A&M-International on Friday at 11 a.m. and then No. 13 Angelo State at 3:30 p.m. Saturday features an 11 a.m. contest with A&M-International and a 1:15 with Angelo State right after. MoWest will then play a Sunday doubleheader against Central Region opponent Ouachita Baptist at 9:30 a.m. and 11:45 a.m.
The games will be played at Mayer Field on the Angelo State campus. A FloSports livestream is available, along with live stats.
Where We Left Off
Griffon Softball finished its opening weekend unbeaten last week in Mansfield, Texas, securing a 7–5 win over Texas A&M–Kingsville on Sunday at the Lone Star D2 College Classic at the Fields at Station 63.
MoWest opened the scoring in the first inning when
Sydney Young stole second base and
Myah Dwyer stole home to give the Griffons a 1–0 advantage. The lead grew to 2–0 in the second as
Amiya Hernandez delivered an RBI single to left field, bringing home
Rachel Barriga.
Texas A&M–Kingsville got on the board in the third with a solo home run, trimming the margin to 2–1. MoWest responded in the fourth when Hernandez tripled to right center and later scored on a throwing error, extending the Griffon lead to 3–1.
The Javelinas closed the gap again in the fifth, scoring an unearned run on a sacrifice bunt to make it 3–2. MoWest answered immediately as
Ashlyn Finarty launched a two-run homer to deep left, pushing the score to 5–2.
Texas A&M–Kingsville surged in the sixth, using a two-run double and an RBI single to tie the game at 5–5. MoWest answered in the bottom half as Dwyer delivered an RBI single before Finarty reached on a fielder's choice to bring home another run, giving MWSU a 7–5 lead. The Griffons held on in the top of the seventh to secure the 7–5 win.
In the circle,
Ashlyn Finarty started and worked five innings, allowing three hits and two runs (one earned) while striking out four.
Torie Sandoval (2-0) earned the win in relief, tossing two innings and recording four strikeouts despite allowing three runs.
Season Outlook
Griffon Softball is picked to finish 7
th out of 13 teams in the MIAA this season, per the preseason coaches' poll. MoWest received 84 points in the voting, sitting behind Washburn in 6
th place and ahead of 8
th place Emporia State.
The Griffons, under second year head coach
Nicole Thompson, are coming off of a 32-21 mark in 2025, including a 12-12 record in MIAA play. MoWest, who's won 30 games or more in each of the last four seasons, qualified for the MIAA softball tournament last season, falling to Pittsburg State 10-7 in the quarterfinal round.
MoWest brings back a strong core of talent this season with 11 returners total, including four of the top five hitters and two starting pitchers from last season. The Griffons bring back five players who started 46 games or more in 2025, and eight players who started 16 games or more.
The Griffons also added 11 players – seven transfers and four freshmen. Three of the new players are pitchers, while eight position players were added as well. Of the seven transfers, four of them come from the NCAA Division I level.
Schedule Breakdown
The Griffs will play next weekend in the D2 Battle at Branson on Feb. 13–14 in Branson, Missouri. MoWest will take on Maryville, Southern Nazarene, Quincy and Southwest Baptist that weekend.
The final non-conference tournament this season, the Midwest College Classic, is set for Feb. 27–March 1 in Kansas City, featuring games against Central Region foes Winona State, Minnesota State-Moorhead, Bemidji State, Concordia-St. Paul, Minnesota State and Quincy.
MoWest's home opener is set for Saturday, March 7 with a doubleheader against No. 12 Augustana. The Griffons stay home the following weekend to host Fort Hays State on Saturday, March 14 for its MIAA opener.
The first MIAA doubleheaders on the road are set for March 20–21 at Northeastern State and No. 19 Rogers State respectively. The Griffs will also travel to see No. 5 Central Oklahoma on April 4 and then come home to see No. 24 Missouri Southern on April 10.
The regular season concludes May 1 with a road doubleheader at Northwest Missouri State. The 2026 MIAA Softball Tournament is scheduled for May 6-10 at Trusler Sports Complex in Emporia, Kansas.
Fight On 50
The 2025-26 season marks the 50
th season of Griffon Softball and of women's athletics at Missouri Western State University. Softball has been a key part of that history as one of the four original women's programs that started in 1975-76.
Since that time, Griffon Softball has won 1298 games with 14 national tournament bids (11 NCAA + 3 NAIA), one national title (1982) and four MIAA championships (two tournament, two regular season).
