Lions sign 5 athletes in 3 sports

May 20, 2008 12:46 am

— From staff reports
sports@joplinglobe.com
The Missouri Southern baseball team added a pair of junior college transfers on Monday in Fort Scott Community College’s Zach Caldwell and Carl Albert State College’s Garrett Groom.
Caldwell, a three-year starter at St. Mary’s-Colgan in Pittsburg, Kan., was an all-conference and all-region performer at Fort Scott. In high school, the 5-foot-11, 188-pound outfielder helped Colgan to three straight state championships while setting single season school records for batting average, stolen bases, runs scored and on-base percentage.
Groom, a 6-1, 190-pound pitcher from Poteau, Okla., had a 2.38 ERA in 68 innings in his freshman season at Carl Albert. He struck out 108 while walking just 46 in his two seasons. He was a four-year starter at Poteau High School, where he holds the school record for wins (11) and strikeouts (147) in a season.
Missouri Southern, led by first-year head coach Bryce Darnell, finished 19-33 in 2008. The Lions were 16-20 in MIAA play, the most conference wins for the school since 2002.
Southern adds thrower
The MSSU track and field squad announced the addition of East Newton’s Cody Chaffin.
Chaffin, a 6-2, 255-pound thrower, claimed the Big 8 discus title while helping the Patriots to a league championship. He also helped East Newton to a district title in 2007.
He was a four-year letter winner and a two-year starter for East Newton’s football team.
Lion softball signs two pitchers
Despite its lack of a head coach, the Missouri Southern softball program announced the signing of two pitchers on Monday.
Breanna Volkmann and Kelsey Williams will join the Lions for the 2009 season.
Williams, from Van Buren, Ark., was a four-year starter for Van Buren High School where she was an all-conference pick each season. She was an all-state selection in both her junior and senior campaigns. As a senior, she was 24-7 with a 0.61 ERA in 194 innings with 276 strikeouts and just 59 walks. She had 13 shutouts, four no-hitters and nine one-hitters.
Volkmann was a three-year starter at North Kansas City High School, where she was a first-team all-conference, all-district and all-metro selection. She was a four-sport athlete for the Hornets, also lettering in basketball, volleyball and track.