Cole Woods named MIAA Pitcher of the Week

(From Missouri Southern Sports)

Missouri Southern senior pitcher Cole Woods was announced as the MIAA Pitcher of the Week by the league office today.

This is the second time this season Woods has been named conference Pitcher of the Week after being tabbed the inaugural award winner back in February.

Against the No. 5 Bronchos of Central Oklahoma, the senior right hander had a no-hitter going into the ninth inning and finished with the win after 8.0 innings, one hit allowed, nine strikeouts with four caught looking and one walk issued in 116 pitches. This season he is now 4-1 with a 3.89 ERA from six starts for 34.2 innings while striking out 39 and walking only nine as opponents are hitting .219 against him and has a 1.07 WHIP.

Woods and the Lions will be in action tomorrow Mar. 14th against Rogers State in a midweek game at Warren Turner Field at 6:00pm before hitting the road for a three game weekend series against Washburn in Topeka, Kan. at Falley Field beginning on Mar. 17th at 5:00pm.

MSSU baseball completes sweep of Central Oklahoma

(From Missouri Southern Athletics)

The Missouri Southern baseball program used a big eighth inning to sweep the fifth ranked Central Oklahoma Bronchos 6-3 on Sunday, Mar. 12th at Warren Turner Field.

The Lions (16-6, 7-2 MIAA) would get on the board in the third inning with a Nate Mieszkowski single to left center scoring Drew Davis and a Garrett Rice single up the middle scoring Mieszkowski for a 2-1 lead over Central Oklahoma (15-6, 5-4 MIAA). UCO tied it up in the fifth and claimed a 3-2 lead in the seventh inning off an error.

Ethan Clark came up with the game winning hit for the second straight game with a single to center field scoring Rice and Mieszkowski as back-to-back walk in runs later on in the inning gave the Lions a 6-3 lead. Laif Hultine came in to close out the game and duly delivered with a flyout and back-to-back ground outs to finish off the ranked Bronchos.

Clark led the team with two RBIs, Mieszkowski went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, Trent Harris picked up his second win of the season with 2.1 innings and four strikeouts with Hultine picking up his third save of the season.

Up next for the Lions will be a midweek game against Rogers State on Tuesday from Warren Turner Field in Joplin, Mo. with first pitch set for 6:00pm.

MSSU men's track finishes 4th, women take 15th at NCAA Indoor Championships

(From Missouri Southern Athletics)

Virginia Beach, Va. - The Missouri Southern track and field programs wrapped up the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships at the Virginia Beach Sports Center on Saturday as the men finished a program record tied for 4th with 26 points and the women tying for 15th with 14 points.

For the day the Lions had five individuals named All-American to have 10 overall over the two days competing in Virginia Beach. This season Southern had one national champion and three top-three event finishes at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Listed below by event are the results from today.

60m Hurdles
Kiara Smith finished second in the women's event to earn All-American laurels with a time of 8.21 seconds the second fastest time in program history.

Shot Put
Jordan Garr finished fourth in the men's event to earn All-American honors with a personal best mark of 18.63m, the mark is also the fourth best in school history.

3000m Run
Ryan Riddle picked up All-American honors for the second time in as many days with a sixth place finish in the men's event with a time of 8:04.54 minutes the seventh fastest time in program history.

Shot Put
Samariae Bonds picked up All-American honors with a seventh place finish in the women's event with a personal best mark of 15.02m.

Triple Jump
Taris Jackson picked up All-American honors with a seventh place finish in the men's event with a mark of 15.08m

200m Dash
Smith earned her second All-American laurels of the day with an eighth place finish in the women's event with a time of 24.13 seconds, tied for the seventh fastest time in program history.

All-Americans:
Day One: Peyton Barton (Men's Weight Throw, National Champion), Riley Simpson, Kelton Sorrell, Gabe McClain and Ryan Riddle (Men's Distance Medley Relay), Mallory Huber (Women's Weight Throw)
Day Two: Kiara Smith (Women's 60m Hurdles, National Runner-up and 200m Dash), Jordan Garr (Men's Shot Put), Riddle (3000m Run), Samariae Bonds (Women's Shot Put), Taris Jackson (Men's Triple Jump)

Point splits for the men were as follows: 10 in the Weight Throw, six in the DMR, five in the Shot Put, three in the 3000m Run and two in the Triple Jump.
Point splits for the women were as follows: eighth in the 60m Hurdles, three in the Weight Throw, two in the Shot Put and one in the 200m Dash.

Up next for the track and field programs at Missouri Southern will be the ESU Spring Invite on Mar. 18th in Emporia, Kan. to begin the outdoor season.