Truman State pitcher

Truman State pitcher Cody Gardner  (photo/TrumanBulldogs.com)

Senior Cody Gardner tossed his 14th career complete game and his second shutout as the Truman Baseball team blanked William Jewell 6-0 in the opening game of the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional on Thursday night. The Bulldogs will face the Drury Panthers on Friday at 7 p.m.  Drury earned a 9-4 win over #2 Grand Valley (Mich.) State in the tournament opener that pitted champions from the postseason tournaments of the Great Lakes Valley Conference and the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference.

Gardner allowed six hits, struck out four and walked nobody while throwing 115 pitches to earn his team-leading and school record breaking ninth win of the season and 15th for his career for Truman State.

The fifth-seeded Panthers used seven strong innings from senior pitcher Trevor Richards and a small-ball offense to beat second-seed Grand Valley State 9-4.  In winning its fifth straight post-season game against a higher-seeded team – the then-seventh seed Panthers defeated seeds 1, 2, 3 and 5 last weekend to win the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship.  Coach Scott Nasby’s squad improved to 32-22-1 with its 15th win in its last 17 games.