ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Griffon Baseball (25-23, 18-17 MIAA) fell to No. 9 Rogers State 12-2 in eight innings on Friday at Griffon Park in St. Joseph.
MoWest fell behind 4-0 in the third inning, 6-0 in the fourth and never recovered. RSU (38-11, 26-9 MIAA) slammed the door with three runs in the eighth while holding the Griffons off the board in the bottom of the eighth to win via run rule.
MoWest had seven hits, but stranded 12 baserunners.
Carson Shear was 2-for-3 with a double.
Luke Parmentier had a solo home run.
Cole Evans (6-2) made the start and took the loss, going 2.1 innings. He struck out one, walked two and was charged with two earned runs on five hits.
Noah Turner tossed a scoreless inning in the eighth, striking out two.
Six Griffon pitchers combined to walk 10 Hillcats and hit two others. RSU also scored four unearned runs on two errors.
MoWest will play now Rogers State in a rubber match on Saturday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) and available to stream on the MIAA Network.
Fourteen Griffons will be honored on Senior Day after the conclusion of the game.
