EDMOND, Okla. – Griffon Baseball (27-23, 19-17 MIAA) is onto the MIAA baseball tournament quarterfinals with a 7-5 win over Fort Hays State (17-33, 12-24 MIAA) in the opening round on Wednesday at Wendell Simmons Field in Edmond.
It marks the first time since 2017 that MoWest won its opening game in the MIAA tournament.
MoWest scored two runs in the first inning and two more in the third to lead 4-2 headed to the fourth.
Hays got a run back in the sixth and tied the game in the top of the seventh before the Griffons took the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh with three runs to lead 7-4.
After six strong innings by starting pitcher
Cam Saleh (5-3),
Cole Evans (S 2) tossed the last three innings in relief and got the save, striking out two.
Saleh tied his season-best with seven strikeouts, walking just two.
Jordan Austin and
Miguel Cantu led the charge offensively, as they each had three hits. Austin scored a team-best three runs.
Cantu,
Luke Shannahan and
Seth Winkler each had two RBI.
Ben Waliczek was invaluable at shortstop, recording seven assists and four putouts.
MoWest will now face No. 2 seed and No. 14 ranked Rogers State (38-12, 26-10 MIAA) in MIAA tournament quarterfinals on Thursday at 4 p.m.
The game will be broadcast on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) and available to watch on the MIAA Network with a subscription.
