ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Missouri Western softball (16-9, 5-3 MIAA) is back on the road this week for a non-conference test at No. 8 Augustana (17-5) Tuesday and then a conference doubleheader at Central Missouri (12-10, 1-3 MIAA) on Thursday.
Tuesday's games start at 12 and 2 p.m. at Bowden Field in Sioux Falls, while Thursday's start at 3 and 5 p.m. at the South Recreation Complex in Warrensburg.
Last Time Out
Missouri Western softball (16-9, 5-3 MIAA) shutout Northeastern State 4-0 in the first game of a doubleheader, but lost the second 4-2 on a blustery Friday afternoon at the MWSU Spring Sports Complex.
Game 1: Missouri Western 4 Northeastern State 0
Missouri Western scored two runs in the first and two more in the fifth.
Ayva McComas drove in three of those runs with an RBI single in both the first and fifth innings.
Kalee Higdon was 3-for-4 at the plate, while
Myah Dwyer went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.
Coming off of a complete game against Rogers State Thursday,
Sydney Rader didn't flinch on Friday, completing her sixth complete game shutout of the season, holding the RiverHawks to just three hits over seven innings. She struck out six, walked none and hit one.
Game 2: Northeastern State 4 Missouri Western 2
Northeastern State build a 3-0 lead after the fourth inning and then added another run in the top of the sixth. Wading through weather delays in the seventh inning, Missouri Western got on the board in the bottom of the frame with an RBI single by
Bubba Hoelscher. Hoelscher came around to score on a throwing error, but the Griffon rally stopped there.
Missouri Western was limited to five hits in the loss.
Ashlyn Finarty (3-2) took the loss in the circle, going four innings in the start, surrendering five hits and three runs (one earned). She had no walks and no strikeouts.
Harley Pruetting tossed the final three innings, giving up just one run while striking out four and walking one.
Thompson Time
Missouri Western has begun a new chapter in its storied softball history, as head coach
Nicole Thompson is in her first season as the seventh head coach in program history.
Hired last June, Thompson came to the Griffons from NCAA Division II Regis University in Colorado, and is fresh off a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Tournament championship and an NCAA South Central Regional appearance in 2024. In her five seasons as head coach at Regis, Thompson compiled a
132-101 overall record, leading the Rangers to 33 wins or more in each of her last three seasons. Her 2024 team swept its way to the RMAC Tournament title as a No. 5 seed and earned the program's first NCAA Tournament berth since 2015. The Rangers also then defeated #1 nationally ranked West Texas A&M in the tournament's opening round.
Prior to Regis, Thompson spent three seasons as head softball coach at NAIA Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky.. Thompson compiled an
overall record of 82-70, while her Appalachian Athletic Conference record was a remarkable 50-20. She guided her team to third-place finishes in 2017 and 2018, earning AAC Coach of the Year honors in 2017.
Thompson had a unique start to her coaching career. Originally accepting a position as the Assistant Director for Communications at Union College in February 2016, Thompson served as the Interim Head Coach beginning in September 2016 before being named the full-time head coach.
Thompson was a dual-sport athlete in college, competing in both softball and basketball for NAIA Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas. As a softball player, she was a three-time All-KCAC First-Team selection at shortstop. Her team won two KCAC regular season championships and one KCAC Tournament title, while also making two NAIA National Tournament appearances (2012, 2013).
Joining Thompson on staff is pitching and catching coach
Steffany Dickerson. Before MWSU, Dickerson was a graduate assistant at the University of Kansas and contributed to the Jayhawks' seven Top 25 victories in 2023 and '24.
Steffany was a standout starting pitcher at Missouri State who received numerous accolades, including MVC Pitcher of the Year and MVC All-Tournament MVP. She completed her collegiate career with an impressive ERA of 2.24 and 530 strikeouts.
Guess Who's Back
Missouri Western returns 11 players from a 2024 team that went 31-20 overall and 13-13 in the MIAA. The Griffons return seven of their top eight hitters from a season ago - all seven of whom started 43 games or more in 2024. Shortstop
Kalee Higdon returns after garnering second-team all-MIAA honors last year. Outfielder
Mackenzie DeVine is now a two-time all-MIAA selection, picking up honorable mention honors last season.
In the circle, the Griffons return three-time all-MIAA senior
Sydney Rader, who earned honorable mention all-conference accolades last season. Rader went 15-7 last year, striking out 149 in 161.2 innings. MWSU also brings back starters in
Harley Pruetting and
Ashlyn Finarty. Finarty was honorable mention all-MIAA in 2024, while Pruetting was an honorable mention all-conference pitcher in 2023.
Rader's Last Hurrah
In her final go-around with Missouri Western, the fifth-year senior has been downright dominant in the circle. Rader currently ranks No. 1 in the MIAA in complete games (13), complete game shutouts (6), No. 2 in wins (11), innings pitched (90), No. 3 in ERA (1.24) and No. 3 in strikeouts (85).
New Kids on the Block
Missouri Western added 10 new players to its roster in the offseason - five freshmen and six transfers. Joining Coach Thompson from Regis are C/UTL
Rachel Barriga, catcher
Sydney Young and outfielder
Sienna Reed.
Barriga made 42 starts for Regis last year and batted .304. Young made 49 starts as a freshman last season at Regis, batting .275 on the year. Reed started a combined 103 games in two seasons at Regis, where she had a career batting average of .275 and a career slug percentage of .426. Reed was an honorable mention all-RMAC selection at Regis last season as well.
Outfielder
Ella Fitzpatrick joins MWSU from Division I Lipscomb University. Fitzpatrick had also played at Iowa Western Community College, helping the Reivers to a NJCAA World Series Appearance in 2024. In that season, Fitzpatrick had a huge impact, batting .345 with a .593 slug. She scored 49 runs on 50 hits, including eight home runs.
A couple more JUCO stars join Missouri Western in 2025. Infielder
Lauren Newlin had a terrific year last year at Central Arizona College, batting .343 in 40 games. Another infielder, shortstop
Ayva McComas, joins MWSU from Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado, where she was an NJCAA All-American, collecting a combined 53 HRs and 159 RBIs in two seasons.
Two-Sport Stars
The Griffons added some pitching help as well, borrowing All-American thrower
Makenzie Garr from MWSU Track and Field. Garr, in her sophomore year, is no stranger to softball. The St. Joseph native was an all-city and all-district pitcher for St. Joseph Central, helping the Indians to a district championship game appearance in 2022. She recorded 185 strikeouts in her senior season alone.
Missouri Western will also have Griffon soccer keeper
Morgan Byrd playing infield this spring. Byrd had a terrific softball career at Papillion-La Vista High School in Nebraska, helping the Monarchs to state titles in 2020 and 2023. She earned all-state honors in 2023 as well.
A Look at Augustana and UCM
Augustana is off to a terrific start this season, already scoring wins over MIAA members Central Missouri, Washburn, Pittsburg State, Northwest Missouri State, Emporia State and Northeastern State.
The Vikings boast the top fielding percentage (.946) and best team ERA (1.59) in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Grace Glanzer (8-3) is their ace in the circle with 11 complete games and three shutouts. She's struck out 75 and walked only 13.
Augustana has played all 22 of their games thus far on the road, so Tuesday marks the home opener for the Vikings.
Central Missouri has scored regional victories this season over Minnesota-Crookston, Northern State and Minnesota State. The Jennies have played just two conference doubleheaders thus far, getting swept at Fort Hays State and splitting at Nebraska-Kearney.
The Griffs have won six of their last seven contests against the Jennies.
