St. Joseph, Mo. – Game two of the series with Missouri Western was played Saturday afternoon. The Bearcats won the game by a monstrous score of 16-5. With the win, SBU improves to 17-27 (9-20 MIAA).
 
The Griffons got on the board first, crossing the plate twice in the 1^st inning. The Bearcats bounced back right away, scoring 8 in the 2^nd inning. Blake Hobbs and Brett Mitchell hit back-to-back singles to lead off the inning. Trevor Lofstrom then doubled, scoring both runners to even the score at 2-2. The next batter was Caleb Sneed, reaching on a single, then Carl Schwettmann launched a home run to left center, putting SBU ahead 5-2. Later in the inning, the Bearcats batted around, where Blake Hobbs hit a three-run home run, the second of the inning.
 
Missouri Western kept their offense going as well, scoring two more runs in the 2^nd. Caleb Sneed led off the 3^rd with a walk. A batter later, Hunter Hisky drove one over the wall to gain back those two runs Western just scored. The next run was scored by the home squad, plating just one in the 4^th to make the score 10-5 SBU. The game remained quiet until the 8^th inning, where the Bearcats scored three more times. The bases were loaded for Trevor Lofstrom who drew a walk, scoring a run. Caleb Sneed drove in the second run of the inning on a sacrifice fly, and Brett Mitchell later scored on a first and third offensive play.
 
Cole Van Every struck out the side in the bottom of the 8^th, keeping SBU in the driver's seat. The Bearcats piled on three more runs in the 9^th, creating a final score of 16-5.
 
Sam Avila led SBU offensively, going 4-6 at the plate, scoring twice. Senior Trevor Lofstrom went 1-2 at the plate, drawing 4 walks and driving in 4 in the win.
 
Cole Van Every was credited with the win after coming in during the 2^nd inning and pitching 7.0 innings, surrendering just one run on four hits and striking out 12 batters.
 
The rubber match of the series is scheduled to start at 1 PM on Sunday.