Baseball off to slow start

The Missouri Western men’s baseball team hasn’t exactly got out to the start they planned this season, with many of their first games getting cancelled, thier record now stands at 8-14 and (5-6) in conference.

There have been bright spots for the Griffons this season. Their offense has been exceptionally well, so far. Ben Toedebusch and Adam Carolan have been two of the better hitters for the Griffons. Toedebusch leads the team in batting average at an impressive 407. He is also tied for the team lead in triples with two, and also adds two home runs and 14 run batted in. Carolan leads the team in home runs and runs batted in, with four and 16 respectively.

The Griffons pitching staff has also been a bright spot for the team. The Griffons have a team earned run average of 5.93. The leaders of the pitching staff, so far have been Chris Jackson and Chris Rusler. Jackson has the Griffons lone shutout this season and Rusler leads the Griffons in earned run average, with a 2.08.

The Griffons still have time to turn it around this season. Their goal is to make the conference tournament and try to win that to get to the playoffs. The Griffons are looking for their seventh straight winning season.

Another key player for the Griffons, so far this season has been Troy Landi. Landi has been a table setter for the baseball team. He leads the team in runs scored with 23 and he also leads the team in stolen bases with ten.

The Griffons are currently sitting at sixth in the MIAA conference. The conference is top loaded with Emporia State, who is ranked tenth in the nation, and Central Missouri, who is currently 21st in the nation. The Griffons are currently only a game out of third place.

The Griffons have set off on a long trip. They won their first game on Friday against Truman State by the score of 13-3. Then on Saturday in a doubleheader they won their first game against Truman State by the score of 7-4, and in the second game they lost by the score of 5-2. The Griffons will be back home on April 8 and will have a total of ten home games, through April 20.

Chiefs to visit Western

Missouri Western and the Kansas City Chiefs have announced that Western will host an off season practice for the Chiefs on June 12 at Spratt Stadium.

The practice will be a passing practice featuring some of the Kansas City Chief players. The players will not be in full pads, but rather helmets and shorts. The Chiefs cheerleaders and KC Wolf will also be in attendance for fans to enjoy.

After the practice is over Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards will address the crowd with a brief message, then some of the players will be available for autographs. The workout is scheduled for approxi­mately 90 minutes.

This visit is not related to the Chiefs thinking about moving training camp to Missouri Western campus. This is going to become an annual event at different locations around the Kansas City area. Western was the first location that was picked by the Chiefs for this off-season workout.

This event is not only for the Western family, but also for the St. Joseph community as well. St. Joseph is full of Chief fans and this will be a fun way for them to interact with their favorite team. Dan Nicoson believes this is a way for people to see their favorite team.

“It’s not just for Western, but for the whole community,” Nicoson said. “It gives people a chance who normally don’t get to see the Chiefs, a chance to see them.”

Not all of the details have been released for the event. Western is not out to make money, but it is unsure whether there will be a cost. If there is a cost it will be a minor charge.

This will be a great opportunity for the campus to be shown off for the community, as they can come cheer on the Chiefs and see the beauty that is Spratt Stadium.

Western student bowls perfect game

Missouri Western Junior Jennifer Myers did something historic when she bowled in her Monday night mixed league in Atchison, Kansas, she bowled a perfect game.

There has been many perfect games bowled in bowling, but the feat had never been achieved by a women in the history of the town of Atchison. Myers fought through the nervousness when she went up there in the last frame to achieve this score.

“When I went up there for the tenth frame my legs were shaking really bad, honestly I felt like I was going to throw up,” Myers said.

The last ball Myers threw in the game was extremely dramatic. Her last ball came up a little high and the seven pin stood wobbling. The pin swayed and finally fell over to give Myers her perfect game. Bob Myers the owner of West Lanes and Jennifer’s father thought the pin was never going to fall over.

“That pin took forever to fall over and a lot of the guys standing around had tears in their eyes, it was pretty emotional,” Myers said.

Myers doesn’t have a major amount of bowling experience. She began bowling in second grade and continued until the fifth grade. She then stopped bowling until her senior year, when she got back into the sport.

For West Lanes Bowling Center this was a big event. Women have came close to bowling a perfect game and finally it happened. For Bob this was a significant event for his bowling center.

“I think it would have been exciting if any women was going to bowl a 300, but since it was my daughter it made it a little more exciting,” Myers said.

Myers achieved every bowlers dream that Monday night. She believes the achievement of bowling a perfect game is enough. The fact that she is the first women is just an added bonus. It’s a night Myers certainly will not forget anytime soon.

Men's basketball ends season; miss MIAA Tourney

The Missouri Western Men's basketball team ended their season in defeat by losing to the Missouri Southern Lions by the score of 87-80.

Before the game the Griffons saluted the seniors on the team. The three seniors that were honored were Kyle Kirschner, Jay McFarland and Keion Kindred as they played their last home game. The Griffons were led in scoring by Reggie Bunch. Bunch had a big night as he scored a career high 38 points, to go along with 16 rebounds. It was his ninth double-double of the season. The only other Griffon in double figures was McFarland who added 14 points.

The Griffons ended this season on a six game losing streak. They failed to reach the conference tournament for the second straight year. They ended their season with a 9-18 record and dead last in the MIAA with a 3-15 conference record. The Griffons will look for better success next season and hopefully end the drought of missing the conference tournament.

Women's Golf ready for season

The Missouri Western's women's golf team maybe young but they are ready to make an impact in the Spring season.

The Griffons were up and down in their Fall season. The highs being finishing fourth at the William Jewell tournament and finishing fifth at the NWMSU Fall Invitational. The lows being finishing eighteenth at the Drury Invitational and thirteenth at the SW Minnesota State University Invite. Head coach Cathy Habermehl believes the Griffons are close to being a successful team.

The team is young and small in numbers. The team is made up of only four players. The team consists of two freshman, a junior and a senior. The two freshman are Lexi Webb and Jessica Rawdon. The lone junior is Central graduate Deidra Twombly. The only senior is Kimberly Evans.

The Griffons will have their home tournament on March 17 and 18. The MWSU Invitational will be at Fairview Golf Club in St. Joseph, MO. The Griffons will play in six tournaments this Spring. 

Griffon Basketball struggles on the road

The men’s and women’s basketball team couldn’t find the right formula to win on their recent road trips as they both went 0-2.

The men fell in their first game 67-54 against Pittsburg State. The Griffons were as close as 41-40 with 12:42 left in the contest, but the Griffons couldn’t overtake the Gorillas.

The women didn’t fair much better against the Gorillas as they lost their game 73-65. The Griffons jumped out to a early 20-9 lead, but the couldn’t keep the momentum rolling for the whole game. The Griffons were led in scoring by senior Chemia Woods who had a career high, 21 points in the game. Jill Johnson and Yanique Javois were also in double figures as they each added 12 points.

The men struggled again offensively as they lost 65-52 against Fort Hays State, setting a new season low for points. The Griffons were led in scoring in the game by senior Jay McFarland as he had 15 points in the game. No other Griffons were in double figures, but Kyle Kirschner had a season high nine points.

The women came close to ending their losing streak, but couldn’t quite get it done as they fell to Fort Hays State by the score of 81-79. The game featured 11 ties and 16 lead changes. A put back by Meshia Mason with one second left broke the tie and ultimately won the game for the Tigers. The Griffons losing streak has now reached 11 games.

Both teams are now in danger of missing the conference tournament. The women’s team currently stands at 9-13 (4-10) and is currently in a three way tie for the last confer­ence tournament spot. The men’s team currently stands at 9-14 (3-11) and are currently three games out of a conference tournament spot.

Griffons finalize recruiting class

Missouri Western’s football team has announced its incoming recruiting class for next season’s team and as usual it has a local flavor to it.

They signed 24 high school players, 22 from the state of Missouri and four from St. Joseph. The Griffons signed three athletes from Central High School. From Central, they signed Michael Hill a running back, who had 746 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns his senior year.

They also signed Ben Pister, also from Central who played linebacker and was two-time all state during his high school career. The last player they signed from Central was Jeremy Weston who played both wide receiver and defensive back during high school.

The only two out-of-state recruits the Griffons signed were Matt Fairchild from Kansas and Ben Jackson from California. Fairchild who is from Andale, Kan., plays linebacker and is the all-time leading tackler in Andale High School history. Jackson who is from Chino Hills, Calif., plays defensive back and had 80 tackles in his two-year varsity career.

The athletes the Griffons added will look to help the team in the future. Though many will take a red shirt for next season, some might see immediate playing time. The Griffons loaded up with local talent. They are trying to get the top talent from St. Joseph every year. Though with all recruiting classes only time will tell if this class was a success.

Injuries have plagued Griffons Basketball

The women's basketball team has been getting all the breaks this season, in all the wrong ways.

The women’s basketball team have lost two key players to injuries. The first player they lost was junior, Amanda Thomas. She was supposed to be a key contributor to the team this season.

They just recently lost Lauren Nolke. She is a freshman who has been playing well for the Griffons. She is currently out of action with a sprained ankle. She was starting to hit her stride and was really helping the team.

The biggest blow came at the beginning of the season when the Griffons found out Ashleigh Curry was ineligible for this season. She is currently taking a red shirt and will be available next season for the Griffons. Curry was a star on last seasons conference championship team.

This season has not went the way the Griffons had hoped that it would. Maybe the bar was set to high after last season’s great success. After winning the conference championship the Griffons had bigger and more lofty goals this season. Then again I wonder how different the season would have went with the whole team intact. The injuries have hurt the teams chances of having a successful season. Sometimes everything doesn’t go as planned for a team and that is the way things have gone for Western.

Athletic Director pick vital for Missouri Western

For Missouri Western the choice of a new is vital for the future of the university. The new athletic director will need to keep the university moving forward. They will also need to keep student athletes graduation rates up. They will be replacing Mark Linder who did well at both.

Linder while he was here, helped develop the Max Experience, which helped produce the new basketball court and new turf on the football field. Linder was a high quality person that helped the athletic department greatly. 

That's why picking the right candidate is vital for the university. The Griffons are on the verge of doing well in multiple sports. The closest one is football and with the right facilities they will be able to prosper.

Missouri Western is down to 27 candidates for the position. A person that has experience would probably be the best solution for the problem. The decision is vital for the university, the right decision could catapult the university to greatness.

Griffon Baseball needs a new stadium

Many of the students at Missouri Western know nothing about the Griffon's baseball team; hopefully, in the near future, this won't be a problem.

As a part of Max Experience, a new sports complex has been proposed to be built on campus. With this will come a new baseball stadium on campus.

An on campus stadium would be huge for the baseball team. It wouldn't only help attendance, but it will also help in recruiting. With the new stadium, students will be able to walk to the games.

The team had a quality season last year by winning 28 games. It was hard for the Griffons to get a true following with off campus games.

There is no time frame for when the complex will be built. The approximate cost for the complex, which will include basketball courts, softball fields and tennis courts, will be between $10-12 million. The sooner it's built the better it is for the baseball team and the university.