ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Griffon Baseball (9-15, 4-9 MIAA) battled back but couldn't overcome an early deficit in a 10-8 loss to Emporia State (17-6, 8-5 MIAA) on Tuesday at the Spring Sports Complex.
Emporia State jumped out quickly with three runs in the first and added another in the second to take a 4-0 lead. MoWest responded in the second when
Micah Kobuszewski tripled to center to bring home
Ricky Requejo, then added another in the third on an RBI groundout from
Miguel Cantu to cut it to 4-2.
The Hornets pushed the lead to 6-2 in the fourth, but the Griffons answered again as
Issac Sobieszczyk launched a solo home run to make it 6-3. Emporia State responded with three runs in the fifth to stretch the margin to 9-3.
MWSU continued to chip away in the bottom half of the fifth. Cantu delivered a solo home run, and the Griffons capitalized with two RBI walks from Kobuszewski and
Ben Waliczek to pull within 9-6.
The comeback effort continued in the seventh as
Luke Parmentier and Cantu each drew RBI walks, trimming the deficit to 9-8 and putting pressure on late. However, Emporia State added an insurance run in the ninth and held off the Griffons down the stretch.
What's Next
The Griffons hit the road for an MIAA weekend series at Northeastern State in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. First pitch is set for Friday at 6 p.m., followed by Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
