Game one | Game two | Season stats

BOLIVAR, Mo. -- Third baseman Justin Barnhart went 4-for-8 and scored three of SBU's five runs in the Bearcats' pair of losses to Missouri Western. Barnhart slapped two singles apiece in each of the two games to the Griffons, in which the 'Cats were outscored, 9-3 in game one, and 6-2 in the nightcap. After quickly falling behind 1-0 in the first game, the Bearcats evened the score in the bottom half of the first inning, when Niko Saladis singled to lead off, then after stealing second was able to take advantage of an error by Western to tie the game.

Later, in the third inning, Barnhart scored the first of his three runs when Kyle Wise was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to cut the Griffons lead to 4-2. A double play would later end the inning and SBU would only get one. The game started to get away from the Bearcats when Missouri Western put up five runs in the fourth inning; after Wise and Justin Crumpley linked up a pair of doubles to drive in a run, the Griffons held on to take the 9-3 victory.

Barnhart, Wise, and Crumpley produced almost all of the offense for the Bearcats in the second game; all three players had two hits apiece, and Wise and Crumpley each drove in Barnhart for the 'Cats two runs of the game. SBU held a 1-0 lead until the fifth inning, when Missouri Western had another big rally, scoring one to tie the game before a three-run home run made it a 4-1 Griffon lead.

Left fielder Paden Grubbs had a pair of hits in the first game followed by a single in the second to tie catcher Steven Davis and centerfielder Niko Saladis for the longest hitting streak of the season, at six straight games.

The Bearcats (2-13, 1-7 MIAA) get a break from conference play when they host the Lincoln Blue Tigers on Tuesday, March 9 for a single nine-inning matchup. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. Conference play resumes next Friday and Saturday, March 12-13 when the 'Cats travel to Pittsburg to take on the Gorillas for a four-game series.