Griffs swept by Hillcats on Saturday
By Jacob Meikel
Missouri Western softball was shown why it’s tough to knock off the best team in the MIAA after the Hillcats of Rogers State outlast Western in both doubleheader games on Saturday.
Both games one and two went the distance, and game one even stretched to extra innings as both aces on the mound for Western and Rogers State gave it their all for their respective teams.
Senior Sydney Rader went toe-to-toe with Rogers State senior Sara Llamas-Howell, who was named the MIAA Pitcher of the Year in 2023 and was also named a NFCA Second Team All-American. Llamas-Howell pitched a complete game with 172 pitches thrown and only one earned run. Rader pitched 169 times before eventually being pulled after 11â…” innings pitched.
Both Western and Rogers State scored a run in the first inning, but after that, it was nothing but goose eggs for 10 straight innings before the 12th inning hit when the inning started with a runner on second base. Rogers State would score six runs in the 12th and extend the game’s scoreless inning streak for Western to 11 by leaving the Griffs empty handed in the bottom of the 12th to take game one 7-1.
Not long after a classic bout in game one, the two teams would square off again for game two. Western made a statement early, working the bats in the third inning to take a 2-0 lead with RBIs from Myah Dwyer and Kalee Higdon. But once again, a stretch of scoreless innings and inconsistent scoring proved to be the fatal flaw of the Griffs on Saturday.
Senior Natalie Kissinger would pitch the entire game for Western, throwing 114 pitches and tallying just one earned run.
Rogers State took advantage of the Griffs not adding to their lead, seeing the door left open and walked right through it by scoring a run in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to take a 3-2 lead heading into the bottom of the final inning. The first two batters for the Griffs would strike out swinging, putting more pressure on the batters that followed. Kennedy Preston would single to the shortstop to out the tying run on first, but the ground out by Taylor Jones would give the Hillcats the final out to seal the game.
The two losses put Western at sixth place in the MIAA standings while Rogers State sits as comfortably in first place as they did before they traveled to St. Joseph. Western is well past the halfway point in the season with 14 games remaining. They will have to be in the top eight of the MIAA standings to qualify for the MIAA Tournament.
