Complete Notes (.pdf)

Live Stats

Game 1 Box Score (Pittsburg State 7, Truman 3)

Game 2 Box Score (Truman 10, Pittsburg State 3)

Truman State University 16-24, 15-21 MIAA

Pittsburg State University 17-23, 13-23 MIAA

PITTSBURG, Kan. – A five-run ninth inning broke a 3-3 tie and gave the Bulldogs a split in the second day of their MIAA series with Pittsburg State on Saturday afternoon by an 8-3 score. The 'Dogs lost the opener 7-3 and will head to St. Louis on Monday for a non-conference twinbill with Maryville University.

A two-out RBI single by Devon Myers followed by a two-run double from Daniel Jewett put the Bulldogs on top 3-0  but Pitt would chip away with a run in the bottom of the third and scored one in the seventh and another in the eighth to tie the game.

Pinch hitter Bryce Bond led off the Truman ninth with a single and Steven Rose also delivered a single through the left side. Jordan Howe sacrificed the runs up a bag and Kenny Swanson singled in Bond to give the Bulldogs the lead. Luke Crader would get a sac fly RBI, Dan Plecki picked up an RBI the hard way by being hit by a pitch, Jewett drew a bases loaded walk for a run and Kody Stricklin singled in the final run of the inning.

Chris Allard pitched an uneventful ninth as Logan Siegler got the win in relief. Siegler tossed two innings and followed Christian Witt to the mound. Witt went six innings, allowing just three hits and one unearned run.

In the opener, Pitt broke a 1-1 tie with four runs in the fourth inning on six straight hits off of Truman starter Kyle Veazey. The Gorillas would tack on two more in the fifth for a 7-1 advantage.

Myers led off the seventh with a double and would later scored on a two-run single by Bond but that's as close as the 'Dogs would get in the 7-3 loss.

Truman will step outside of conference action with a make-up with Maryville University on Monday at 1:00 p.m. in St. Louis. The doubleheader was originally scheduled for earlier in the season but weather forced the games to be moved. The Bulldogs will have just two MIAA series remaining as they will host Nebraska Omaha next Saturday and Sunday before finishing the regular season at the University of Central Missouri.

Inside the Series: Pittsburg State returned the favor on the Bulldogs by taking three of four as did Truman from the Gorillas last season in Kirksville…both teams hit over .300 for the series with Pitt hitting .328 and the Bulldogs .316…Truman struck out 33 times during the four games…Daniel Jewett led Truman with a .400 batting average by going 6-of-15 while Jeremy Filer paced the Gorillas with a cool .636 mark going 7-of-11 and four RBIs.

Saturday Recap

Game 1 Box Score (Pittsburg State 3, Truman 1)

Game 2 Box Score (Pittsburg State 11, Truman 10) 

PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Pittsburg State Gorillas picked up multiple runs in their final at bats to take both ends of a MIAA doubleheader on Friday night over the Truman Bulldogs. The Gorillas won game one 3-1 and took a wild nightcap 11-10 as the two team return to the field on Saturday.

Truman game one starter Jarrett Eiskina allowed just one hit through nearly five innings but the Gorillas took a 1-0 lead on an RBI single in the fifth that scored Ryan Bilovskey. The Bulldogs were able to tie it in the top of the sixth as Steven Rose came around to score on a fielding error by the Gorilla right fielder.

A lead off single in the bottom of the inning followed by a walk issued by Eiskina put the first two Pitt players on and Logan Siegler was called in from the bullpen. Siegler walked the first batter he faced to load the bases and Jeremy Graves then laid down a safety squeeze bunt to push across the go-ahead run. Bilovskey followed with a RBI ground out and the Gorillas took a 3-1 lead into the final inning.

Truman left a pair of runners stranded in the top of the seventh as Ryan Sorell notched fourth win of the season.

Both starters were hit hard in game two as Truman's Tyler Stefan allowed six runs, five earned in four innings of work while his counterpart Scott Brady lasted just two innings giving up five runs. Each team tallied runs in the first three innings with the Bulldogs scoring one in the first and two runs in both the second and third innings however Pitt after putting up single runs in the first three, took a 6-5 lead with three in the fourth. Jeremy Filer with the two-run double being the big hit in the inning.

Truman battled back to take an 8-6 lead with three of their own in the top of the fifth. Singles by Kenney Swanson, Michael Reese and Devon Myers led to each run but following a costly caught stealing by Daniel Jewett with one out and a runner on third, Luke Crader left another run 90 feet away with a called third strike.

The Bulldogs put up two more in the sixth as consecutive doubles from Reese and Rose with two outs seemed to have put Truman in control 10-6.

Colton Leet got a key two run scoring single to right off of Matthew Grosch to get those runs back in the bottom of the inning.

Grosch got out of a big jam in the eight as Pitt's leading hitter Ryan Reddick came into the series hitting over .400 but was then 0-4 was up with runners at second and third. Grosch got Reddick to leave the runners stranded with a fly ball to center.

Chris Allard was called upon to finish off the night for Truman but walked the first batter he faced. Bilovesky then grounded into a fielders choice and a pop out following a wild pitch put the Bulldogs to within an out of the win.

Filer singled in Bilovesky to chase Allard for Christian Witt. The reigning MIAA pitcher of the week walked his first hitter then gave up a game-tying single to Taylor Sibala. Brian Dean followed with the walk-off single up the middle.

Jewett and Reese each had four hits apiece in game two as the Bulldogs had 23 in the two games but just two extra base hits. Truman hitters were struck out 20 times on Friday night while getting just five walks.

The teams will resume their four-game series on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

Series Preview:

Riding the momentum of taking three of four last weekend, the Bulldog Baseball team will head back out on the road for another big MIAA series. Truman will take on Pittsburg State University in a pair of doubleheaders beginning Friday at 4:00 p.m. in Pittsburg, Kan. before stepping outside of league play with a non-conference double-dip on Monday at Maryville University.

Truman (15-21 overall, 14-18 MIAA) is still in a battle for one of the six postseason spots in the MIAA tournament, however, they may have the toughest road head. The Bulldogs are the only team left in the conference that still has two of the top three teams left on their schedule as Truman has Nebraska-Omaha and Central Missouri after this week. That shouldn't deter the faithful as the Bulldogs proved they can win games against teams ahead of them in the standings by taking the series against then-fourth place Missouri Western.

The Bulldogs possess one of the best starting pitching staffs in the MIAA led by senior Kyle Veazey, juniors Ryan Trimble and Tyler Stefan and sophomore Jarrett Eiskina. The staff, as a whole, is fourth in the MIAA in ERA with a 4.64 mark It is the lowest ERA by a Bulldog pitching staff since a 4.53 mark in 1992 and second lowest since 1982. Eiskina and Trimble are 1-2 in the ERA leaders in conference. Eiskina has a 2.26 ERA in eight starts while Trimble has a 2.34 ERA also in eight starts. 

As a whole, the Bulldogs are first in the conference and 12th in the nation in walks issued per nine innings. The team as issued 84 walks for a 2.3 per game mark. The squad is third in the conference in strikeouts this season with 213 or 5.9 Ks/game.

Offensively, Devon Myers (.333), Luke Crader (.314) and Michael Reese (.311) have been the leaders this season while Dan Plecki (.271) leads the team with four home runs and 20 runs batted in.  The Bulldogs hit .259 as a team but average just over four runs per game.

Pittsburg State broke an eight-game skid by salvaging the final game of their four-game series with Northwest Missouri on Sunday by a 5-1 score. The Gorillas are 10-22 in the MIAA and have a 14-22 overall record as we reach the three-quarter post in the season.

As a team, Pitt hits .288 but features one of the best hitters in the MIAA in Ryan Reddick. With a .427 average, Reddick is third in the conference in average with also producing 28 runs batted in. Chase Barnes, who hits .357, is second in the league with 35 runs batted in through 36 games played. The pitching staff has a 5.85 ERA with Ryan Sorett and Scott Brady leading the way with three wins apiece.

Series Schedule:

Due to the holiday weekend, the four-game series will be conducted by a pair of doubleheaders. The first twinbill will begin at Friday at 4:00 p.m. with Saturday's games starting at 1:00 p.m. The seven inning game will begin each day's action followed by the nine inning contest. Shall the seven inning game go into extra innings (regardless of how many) the second game is shortened to seven innings.

Current Weather Forecast:

The National Weather Service is calling for a 50% chance of thunderstorms on Friday night with south wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Saturday also has a 50% chance of thunderstorms with a high near 67.

Bulldog Bites:

·         The Bulldogs are hitting .259 with 64 extra base hits.  The team has 48 doubles, eight triples and eight home runs to go with 46 stolen bases.

·         As a team, the Bulldogs are 67% successful in stolen base attempts (46-of-68).

·         The pitching staff has a 4.64 earned run average through 36 games.  Opponents are hitting .285 with 78 extra base hits (48 doubles, 11 triples and 19 home runs.).

Inside Last Week's Series w/Missouri Western

• It was Truman's first series win over Missouri Western since 1999 and first road win in St. Joseph since 1998
• Luke Crader extended his team-high 10-game hitting streak with a 9-of-13 performance (.692) with four runs scored and three runs batted it
• The Bulldogs hit .312 as a team with nine extra base hits
• Jordan Howe, Dan Plecki and Daniel Jewett each had a team-high four RBIs during the set
• Of MWSU's 33 hits, only three went for extra bases
• Jason Solma hit .583 for the Griffons (7-of-12) while Spencer Shockley added six RBIs
• The Griffons hit .287 as a team
• With the wins, the Bulldogs have broken the school record for MIAA wins in a season with 14, previous record was 11 in 1999
• The 15 overall wins are the most since also the 1999 season (21) with 14 regular season games remaining.

Last Year vs. Pittsburg State:

Truman was a run away from sweeping last year's meeting with the Gorillas. The Bulldogs took game one 4-1 behind Ryan Trimble's complete game and Drew Garwood's home run. Kyle Veazey pitched six solid innings and won 10-3 in game two as the Bulldogs belted out 15 hits with three home runs. Jarrett Eiskina pitched a complete-game three-hitter in a 7-1 Truman win in game three. In the finale, the Gorillas led 10-3 heading into the final Bulldog at bat, but Truman plated six runs in the bottom of the ninth however they left two on and lost 10-9.

Four Bulldogs hit over .400 in the series (Bryce Bond, .444 – Jordan Howe, .429 – Luke Crader, .429 – Kody Stricklin, .400) and as a team, Truman hit .320 with 13 extra base hits.

Taylor Sibala led the Gorillas with a .467 batting average and a pair of doubles.

Up Next:

Truman will play at Maryville University on Monday in St. Louis in non-conference action and will then host Nebraska-Omaha for senior/alumni weekend. All alumni and members of the Dugout club should RSVP to Coach Davis if they are going to attend the weekend series with the Mavericks.