The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Pittsburg State Sports

Related Photos

  • Missouri Southern's Thomas Wilson (2) greets Sam Ryan after Ryan scored the winning run in the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader against Pittsburg State at Joe Becker Stadium.

    032712-PSU@MSSU-bb2.jpg

  • Missouri Southern's Cody Griebling earns a complete-game, 2-1 victory over Pittsburg State.

    032712-PSU@MSSU-bb1.jpg

  • Missouri Southern's Sam Ryan (left) attempts to stay on second base after colliding with Pittsburg State's Evan Thomas.

    032712-PSU@MSSU-bb4.jpg

  • Pittsburg State's Adam Reed slides into Missouri Southern's Thomas Wilson during a double-play attempt.

    032712-PSU@MSSU-bb3.jpg

Discussion

March 27, 2012

Lions sweep Pittsburg State in baseball

By Richard Polen Globe Sports Writer

A bad-hop double brought home the winning run in the first game and Missouri Southern went on to sweep Pittsburg State 2-1 and 15-10 in an MIAA doubleheader Tuesday at Joe Becker Stadium.

The victories moved the Lions (19-7, 12-6 MIAA) into a tie for second place in the tightly-bunched MIAA standings with Emporia State, which swept a doubleheader from Missouri Western in St. Joseph.

Missouri Southern’s Cody Griebling (5-2) and Pittsburg State’s Matt Stalcup (4-2) nearly matched one another pitch for pitch in the first game. Both faced 25 batters. Griebling allowed four hits, walked one and struck out five, while Stalcup allowed four hits, walked two and struck out two.

“After Northwest, I really needed a rebound game,” said Griebling, who played along with Stalcup on the Joplin Outlaws last summer. “The defense did a good job and we got the win.

“I was just trying to get outs,” he said. “On four days rest, I was getting tired more quickly than I normally do.”

With the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Sam Ryan walked on a 3-2 pitch with one out. After Jesse Kinzey struck out, Dane Kolkmeyer lined an 0-2 pitch into left field that bounced away from Chase Barnes. Ryan, who was running on the pitch, scored from first base.

“As luck would have it, Sam had the green light (to try to steal second) on the first pitch and he didn’t go until the third pitch,” said Lions head coach Bryce Darnell.

Pittsburg State (10-11, 8-6) had threatened to take the lead in the top of the sixth. Austin Lastimado hit a one-out, check-swing single over the head of second baseman Luke Acosta, and Ryan Ventura followed with a ground ball single into center field.

Barnes then hit a line drive to right field that Ryan, normally a catcher, snared with a sliding catch. Griebling ended the threat with a strikeout.

“Chase Barnes hit the ball on the money. That was the ballgame,” said Pittsburg State head coach Steve Bever. “That’s what it takes to win in this conference.”

The Lions had taken a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Tee Helsel’s two-out double to right field scored Michael McCoy, who had walked. The Gorillas tied the score in the third inning on a leadoff single by Brad Foss, who moved to second on an error, was sacrificed to third and scored on Lastimado’s sacrifice fly.

In the second game, the Lions took an 11-1 lead with a six-run fourth inning. The key hits were McCoy’s two-run triple that scored Acosta and Cullen Baxter, Kolkmeyer’s ground-rule double to center field that scored Ryan, and a two-out, two-run single by Will Wagner that scored Helsel and Kolkmeyer.

“The ball looked a little bigger today,” said Acosta, who went 5-for-5 with three doubles and scored four runs. “I was just trying to get on base and be aggressive early in the count.”

McCoy was 3-for-4, Kolkmeyer was 3-for-5 with three RBIs and Wagner was 2-for-5, including a leadoff home run in the second inning.

Grant Conrad (1-0) came on in relief of Kinzey with two outs in the fifth inning. Michael Mudd and David Reese relieved Conrad in the ninth inning. Jake Stevenson (2-2), a product of Carl Junction High School, was the starter for the Gorillas.

PSU’s Ryan Ventura was 2-for-5 and scored three runs, and Barnes was 2-for-3 and scored twice.

Catcher Adam Reed capped a three-run fifth inning with a two-run double that scored Barnes and Matt Garcia, who was 2-for-4 with three RBIs. The Gorillas added two runs in the sixth inning on a bases-loaded walk to Garcia and a hit batsman.

Foss, who was 3-for-5, drove in Ryan Reddick with an eighth-inning double, and backup catcher Jacoby Martin singled in one of Pittsburg State’s two runs in the ninth.

Missouri Southern begins a four-game series at 6 p.m. Friday at Central Missouri. Pittsburg State plays a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Saturday at Southwest Baptist.

Text Only
Pittsburg State Sports
Facebook
Poll

Do you think 20th Street from Main Street to Campbell Parkway should be narrowed from four lanes to two lanes as proposed in a redevelopment plan?

A. Yes.
B. No.
     View Results
Parade
Magazine
Click HERE to read all your Parade favorites including Hollywood Wire, Celebrity interviews and photo galleries, Food recipes and cooking tips, Games and lots more.
NDN Video
James Gandolfini Dies at Age 51 Fmr. TWA Flight 800 Investigators Want New Probe Raw: Heat, Spurs Back on Court Ahead of Game 7 Dolce and Gabbana Convicted of Tax Evasion Paris, Prince Depositions Used in Jackson Trial Coiffed Cattle Get Their Close-up In Berlin, Obama Channels Cold War Activism Police at Patriots Tight End's Home for 2nd Day Fed Suggests Bond Purchases Could Slow AP: DOJ Broke Own Rules Seizing Phone Records Raw: Baby White Rhino Debuts at Australian Zoo Time Lapse: Rebuilding Bridge Post-collapse Ohio Woman Accuses 3 of Holding Her Captive Hunt for Ex-Teamster Boss Hoffa's Remains Ends