Deaver dominates as Griffons return home with shutout win

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The Missouri Western baseball field, pristine as always, had sat untouched for 17 days. The Griffons had been road warriors, battling through nine straight contests away from home. However, under a sun-drenched sky with a slight breeze rolling through, their long-awaited return to St. Joseph could not have been scripted any better. Missouri Western notched its first shutout of the season with a 4-0 blanking of rival Northwest Missouri State.

“We just want to win the baseball game, so we tell our guys all the time, the other dugout is just a nameless, faceless opponent,” Griffons head coach Damian Stambersky said. “They put us in a situation where we really got to capitalize on a lot of things that we like to do.”

The first three innings were a defensive battle, with neither team able to break through at the plate. The Griffons threatened in the second when Jett Grossart lifted a shot to left field, but the Bearcats’ defense delivered a strike to home, retiring the inning as Easton O’Keefe was tagged out trying to score.

Missouri Western had another scoring opportunity in the third after Northwest pitcher Brock Steggall was called for a balk, advancing runners to second and third. But the momentum stalled when Carson Shear’s ground ball found the second baseman’s glove, leading to an easy out to end the frame.

“They were hard and flat and hitting a lot of line drives. You know, we started off kind of popping up a little bit,” Stambersky said. “Then they made a noticeable change, I would say, around the third or fourth inning, and it was just like line drive after line drive.”

That shift paid off in the fourth, as the Griffons capitalized. Frank Gall sparked the rally with a single to left, later advancing to third on a base hit by Kaden Doan. Gall then came home on a well-placed sacrifice bunt, putting the home team on the board. Moments later, Diego Rodriguez added to the lead, scoring off another single to make it 2-0.

“Our lineup just responded and just kept swinging the bat,” Stambersky said. “Then we executed some short game, put a little pressure on them, and then one turns to two and two turns to four, and we’re good to go.”

Missouri Western’s Colby Deaver was dominant on the mound, tossing seven shutout innings while allowing just three hits. His command kept the Bearcats off balance and helped the Griffons maintain control throughout.

“Colby Deaver didn’t let any momentum get away from him, just kept shoving the ball through the strike zone,” Stambersky said. “It always feels good to get a win, and it really feels good to win it that way. It was just really fast, clean baseball, which is definitely what we want to do.”

The Griffons tacked on another run in the sixth when Rodriguez singled through the right side, bringing O’Keefe around to score. Grossart added the final insurance run in the eighth with a single to right, once again plating O’Keefe.

With the 4-0 victory, Missouri Western has now won four of its last six and will look to build on that momentum Tuesday at home against Emporia State.

“Getting back at about 12:30 last night, and we had to turn around and do it again, that shows the toughness and the resilience of these guys,” Stambersky said. “We obviously want to carry that momentum forward and learn from the lessons that we’ve got, both good and bad. You don’t have to lose to learn, so let’s make sure that we carry this forward next Tuesday when we play Emporia.”