EDMOND, Okla. – Griffon Baseball (28-23, 19-17) is MIAA tournament semifinal bound for the first time since 2017 with a 9-5 win over No. 2 seed Rogers State (38-13, 26-10 MIAA) in quarterfinals on Thursday evening at Wendell Simmons Field in Edmond.
MoWest scored two runs in the top of the first and never looked back. Leading 4-3 entering the sixth, the Griffons hit three home runs in the top half of the frame, including a two-run blast from
Micah Kobuszewski, to go up 8-3.
The Griffons added an insurance run in the eighth inning with an RBI single from
Jordan Austin. On the mound,
Cole Evans (7-2) put the Hillcats down in order in the ninth to seal the deal.
Evans relieved starter
Sebastian Gutierrez in the fourth and finished the game, going the last 5.2 innings, striking out three and retiring each of his last six batters faced.
Gutierrez struck out a season-high tying five batters with no walks. Austin and Kobuszewski each had three hits. Kobuszewski scored three runs and drove in two.
David De Hoyos went 2-for-5 with a run scored and two RBI, including a home run.
Luke Parmentier also went yard in the sixth.
Ben Waliczek and
Luke Shannahan each had two hits and scored a run.
MoWest will play the winner of No. 6 seed Emporia State and No. 3 seed Missouri Southern in MIAA tournament semifinals on Friday at 1 p.m.
The game will be broadcast on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) and will be available to watch on the MIAA Network with a subscription.
