Baseball 4/22/2012 3:24:00 PM

Bulldogs With Walk-Off Winner Over Griffons To Split Series

Complete Notes (.pdf)
Live Stats

Series Stats:
Truman | Missouri Western

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Bulldog Baseball team scored four times in the bottom of the ninth to walk off with a 9-8 victory over Missouri Western on Sunday. Truman has won eight of their last 12 games and eight straight one-run decisions. The Bulldogs will host Maryville University in a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday.

Devon Myers went 3-for-5 to pull to within one hit of the all-time Bulldog hit record on Sunday. Myers has 190 hits and trails Pat Hardin by one.

Game 1 Recap| Box Score
Missouri Western 5, Truman 0

Michael Schultze led off the game with a home run to right and double in another as the Griffons downed the Bulldogs 5-0 in the series opener. Schultze, Spencer Shockley and Bubba Dotson each collected two hits on the game and Brandon Simmons won his ninth game of the season in picking up the shutout. The Bulldogs were aggressive all day with 11, first-pitch swings with four of their eight hits coming that way. However the aggressiveness on the base paths cost them as Western picked off three runners. The Bulldogs had runners at second and third in the fourth and eighth innings and failed to score. Western added a run in the second, two unearned runs in the fifth and an insurance tally in the eighth. Devon Myers doubled in the first to tie for second in the all-time Truman hit race with 186 while Steven Rose had two hits, including a double to reach 180 for his career.

Game 2 Recap | Box Score
Truman 2, Missouri Western 1

The Bulldogs scored lone tallies in the fifth and sixth innings to snap the Griffons 11-game winning streak with a 2-1 win in the opener. The Griffons took a 1-0 lead in the fourth as Jimmy Spencer singled home Spencer Shockley. The Bulldogs tied the game with two outs in the fifth as Zak Larkin singled in Jordan Howe and took the lead an inning later drove in pinch runner Weston Lewis with a single to center. Tim picked up his fourth win of the season going the distance allowing seven hits and striking out three.

Game 3 Recap | Box Score
Missouri Western 11, Truman 1

After Truman took a 1-0 lead on Paul Trenhaile's solo home run in the second, the Griffons scored 11 unanswered runs to take their second game of the series. Daniel Jewett (1-1) could not get out of the fourth as Western sent 12 hitters to the plate and scored eight times. Shawn Egge had a three-run homer in the inning and Nate Ramler hit a two-run double. The Griffons would score two more unearned runs in the sixth. Nic Jurado (7-0) allowed just three hits while fanning six Bulldogs for the win.

Game 4 Recap | Box Score
Truman 9, Missouri Western 8

In a seesaw battle, the Bulldogs scored four times in the bottom of the ninth to defeat the Griffons 9-8. Western took a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI double by Nate Ramler while Truman tied it in the third on a RBI single by Devon Myers. With two outs in the sixth, a pair of walks and three straight hits by Missouri Western allowed them to take a 4-1 lead. The Bulldogs would respond as Pete Jurich homered in the bottom of the inning and Will Nader singled in two more with two outs after a wild throw to the plate. The Griffons put two more up in the seventh to take a 6-4 lead but Myers connected on his third home run of the season to get one back. In the bottom of the eight, Blake Marino missed a home run by inches as left fielder David Chew robbed Marino of a two-run shot that would have given the 'Dogs the lead. In the top of the ninth, Ramler drilled a pitch to left center and out of the park for two more RBIs and an 8-5 Griffon lead. Zak Larkin led off the bottom of the ninth by drawing a walk from Jake Jones and Steven Rose followed with a single up the middle. Myers floated on that bounced off the outstretched glove of the centerfield who was diving for the ball to load the bases. Pete Jurich stepped in and hit one to the fence in right center to empty the bases and knot the score. Following an intentional walk and a infield single on a chopper by Jarod Hahn, Paul Trenhaile hit a fly ball to center to score pinch runner Weston Lewis to complete the comeback. Tyler Stefan picked up the win taking his record to 3-5 on the season.

Series Preview:
The Bulldog Baseball team will play 12 of their next 14 games at home starting this weekend when they host Missouri Western State University in a four-game set in Kirksville. Truman will then host Maryville (Mo.) University on Tuesday in a make-up for earlier this season.

Truman has won six of their last eight games in the MIAA and are hitting nearly .300 for the month of April. Senior Pete Jurich was key in the Bulldogs split with Fort Hays State last weekend on the road. Jurich hit .538 for the series with two home runs, three doubles and had a slugging percentage of 1.231 to earn him some votes for the MIAA Hitter of the Week award.

Jurich is hitting .393 this month while Daniel Jewett (.381), Paul Trenhaile (.375) and Steven Rose (.372) have awaken the offensive attack for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs won 4-3 and 15-4 against the Tigers last weekend and were on the other end of 11-3, 6-2 scores.

Truman will need to keep the offense going against one of the top three MIAA pitching staffs' to date. The Missouri Western Griffons have a 3.47 ERA with 208 strikeouts in nearly 300 innings pitched. Brandon Simmons leads the conference with an 8-2 record and a 1.73 ERA in nine starts and 10 appearances.

Five Bulldog pitchers have posted sub 5.00 ERAs during the month with Jarrett Eiskina leading the way with two wins and a 1.80 ERA, all in relief. Jewett has made two starts this month and has a 2.45 ERA, Tyler Stefan has appeared six times to the tune of a 3.27 ERA, Tim Lee has pitched two complete games and has a 3.46 ERA and Logan Siegler is 1-1 in both his starts this month and has a 4.97 ERA.

The Griffons' Grant Fink is the reigning MIAA Hitter of the Week as he leads the team with seven home runs. He is second on the team with a .349 batting average and has driven in 27 RBIs. Spencer Shockley paces the Griffons with a .370 batting average while Nate Ramler has a team leading 31 RBIs.

Western has won six straight and 12 of their last 14 games heading into the weekend. The Griffons worked out the scoreboard last weekend in Pittsburg, Kan. as they defeated the Gorillas, 17-6, 13-5, 15-1 and 12-1.

Last season, Truman took three of four from Missouri Western in St. Joseph. Truman won the first three games by scores of 7-3, 5-3, 5-4 before dropping the finale 11-9.

Series Schedule:
The four-game series is scheduled for a single game on Friday at 4:00 p.m. followed by two-seven inning games on Saturday beginning at 1:00 p.m. and wrapping up with a single, nine-inning contest on Sunday at noon. For any changes to the scheduled, please check TrumanBulldogs.com or @TrumanAthletics on Twitter.

Truman In Conference Rankings (April 15):

The Bulldogs are 10th in hitting (.270) and seventh in pitching (5.89 ERA).
Freshman Weston Lewis is tied for third in the league with three triples and fellow freshman Zak Larkin is tied for fifth in stolen bases with 13.
Senior Tyler Stefan is tied for seventh in appearances with 13.
Junior Logan Siegler is 14th in innings pitched with 50.0
Senior Devon Myers leads the MIAA in pickoffs with six.

The MIAA At A Glance:
The Bulldogs are five games back in the win column from fourth place and six losses out from sixth in the jumble mess of the league standings. Truman and Missouri Southern have played the most league games with 32. Central Missouri leads the league at 24-4 followed by Missouri Western (20-8), Emporia State (16-12) and Washburn (16-12).

The top six teams will make the conference tournament in Kansas City.

Milestone Watch
The race to become Truman's all-time hit king is on as seniors Devon Myers and Steven Rose could finish 1-2 when all is said and done.

Myers is six hits away from Truman's all-time hit record of 191 held by Patrick Hardin (2002-05). He is currently fourth and will pass Mike Kubinski (1997-00) and Keaton Jones (2007-10) with two more hits.
Myers is now tied for seventh all-time in runs scored (96) and 12th with 11 home runs. He is currently second in RBIs with 104, second in doubles (37), fourth in at bats (593) and third in total bases (265).
Steven Rose is sixth in hits with 178 career hits, seven behind Myers, sixth with 97 runs scored, sixth triples (seven) and first with 632 career at bats.
Pitcher Tyler Stefan now holds the school record in appearances by a pitcher with 57. He is fourth in innings pitched with 199.0 and tied for sixth in strikeouts with 141.
Sophomore Chris Allard is tied for sixth all-time in saves with four. The Bulldog record is nine set by Dan Hillen (2003-05).

Bulldog Bites:

Truman is hitting .270 as a team this season with 53 extra base hits (37 doubles, six triples and 10 home runs). Last season, the Bulldogs hit .255 with 77 extra base hits. The team had 59 doubles, nine triples and nine home runs to go with 51 stolen bases.
Devon Myers Pete Jurich and Jarod Hahn are tied for the team lead with two home runs apiece.
Daniel Jewett leads the team in hitting with a .336 batting average while Zak Larkin leads in runs batted in with 17. Six different Bulldogs have driving in more than 10 runs this season.
The Bulldogs are 61% in stolen base attempts going 33-of-54 this season. As a team last year, the Bulldogs were 62% successful in stolen base attempts (51-of-82).
The pitching staff has a 5.89 earned run average through 36 games. Opponents are hitting .309 with 83 extra base hits, including 23 round trippers. In 2011, the staff had a 4.96 earned run average in 48 games. Opponents hit .290 with 100 extra base hits (62 doubles, 13 triples and 25 home runs.).
Opponents are scoring 6.86 runs per game while Truman is scoring 3.94.
Truman has had 11 one-run games this season winning six. Over the past four seasons, the Bulldogs are 15-21 in one-run games. The Bulldogs have won their last six straight one-run games.

Truman vs. Fort Hays State:
The Griffons are 61-29 against the Bulldogs all-time.

In last year's series, Truman won three of four with former Bulldog Luke Crader hitting .692 (9-of-13) with a pair of doubles. Jordan Howe hit .444 and as a team Truman hit .312.

Devon Myers has a career .333 batting average against the Griffons with a homer and nine RBIs. Steven Rose has a .261 average with a double, triple and four runs batted in. Pete Jurich has hit .500 (5-of-10) against the Griffons and Tyler Stefan is 1-2 with a 5.02 ERA in five pitching appearances.

Truman/Maryville Make-Up:
Truman's non-conference doubleheader with Maryville University will be played on Tuesday, April 24th in Kirksville starting at 1:00 p.m.

The Saints are 10-21 this season and will play at Quincy University the weekend prior to travelling to Kirksville.
Truman is 3-0 against Maryville all-time.

Up Next:
Following the Maryville doubleheader, Truman will host Pittsburg State for the conference's final series next weekend. It will be senior day as six will be honored during the series. The Gorillas and Bulldogs will play a pair of doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday starting at 2:00 p.m. and noon respectively.

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