Latest news with #Stalzer
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Schneider nearly unhittable as No. 8 MSSU upsets No. 1 UCM in MIAA quarters
In an unusual situation, Missouri Southern State University hosted a game at Warren Turner Field as the away team. The eighth-seeded Lions played host to home team and top-seed University of Central Missouri Thursday for the quarterfinal round of the MIAA tournament. Advertisement UCM, ranked third in the nation (38-11), struggled to find much offense as MSSU's Casey Stalzer and Owen Schneider combined to allow just two runs on four hits on the way to a 7-2 upset of the Mules. "Schneider was great. Obviously, he was the difference for us," MSSU head coach Bryce Darnell said. The lefty entered the game in the third inning with the bases full and only one out. Stalzer had pitched two scoreless frames but started to struggle in the third, allowing three hits and walking one batter as the Mules got a run across, making it 5-1. That's when Schneider came in. "When I came in, I was a little nervous. I faced these guys a couple weeks ago and didn't have my best stuff. I knew I had to come in with my better stuff and pick up my teammate Casey (Stalzer)," Schneider said. Advertisement His stuff was good enough to strike out UCM's Vance Tobol and Isaiah Keller to end the threat and preserve a 5-1 lead. The redshirt sophomore from Rockwood Summit High School in St. Louis went on to finish the game, limiting the opposition to just one hit. He walked three batters and struck out eight. It seemed he may have had some extra juice in the last couple of innings as he recorded four of his eight strikeouts then. On one of them in the eighth frame he let out a loud grunt as he fired a two-strike fastball to the outside part of the plate that Tobol watched go by for a called strike three by the home plate umpire. "It helped that I had my teammates behind me. I did get a little stronger as the game went on. I focused a little more, and I was locating all my pitches," Schneider said. Advertisement The lone hit from the Mules off of Schneider was a solo home run by Keller that made it 5-2 in the sixth inning. Schneider talked about the excitement of getting to be a part of a key victory for his team over a nationally ranked opponent. "It feels amazing. We'll knock out the one seed, and we ain't done yet," Schneider added. Up next for the Lions (28-24) will be the winner of No. 4-seed University of Central Oklahoma and No. 5-seed Rogers State University at 1 p.m. Friday in the semifinals. "Just try to get to the next day. Owen (Schneider) was just wonderful today (and) his ability to get inside on those right-handed hitters was a huge part of the success," Darnell said. Advertisement MORE FROM THE GAME UCM head coach Kyle Crookes elected to go with Jake Wilson as his starting pitcher. Wilson had not started a game all season. He made it through three innings but allowed five runs on six hits while walking two batters and hitting another. It all began in the first inning as the Lions used two hits to score three runs. Drew Townsend started things with a walk. Ethan Clark singled and then Brayden Luikart laid down a bunt for a single to load the bases. Then two runs were scored as Nate Mieszkowski was hit by a pitch and Jacob Filip walked. Treghan Parker grounded out to drive in the third run. "You start fast, and it's hard to beat a good team; when you get up 3-nothing early it makes a difference," Darnell said. Advertisement Darnell noted that the early lead could have played a factor in the way the Mules typically play aggressively on the base paths. He thinks trailing all game may dictate how aggressive Crookes and the Mules want to be. While UCM struggled to score, Crookes felt like his offense was doing good things at times through the early parts of the game. "I think for the first six innings, our offense was, as far as my perspective, I thought we did a great job. We just hit balls right at people," Crookes said. "(Nate) Mieszkowski made a bunch of good plays, you line out to the shortstop and line out a couple places. That's baseball. "Schneider did a good job commanding the zone. And I think he commanded the zone with one pitch. He went fastball in and fastball out and mixed in enough of a slider." Advertisement MSSU tacked on one in the second and another in the third to make it 5-0. Cy Darnell doubled to start the second and Drew Townsend singled to move him over 90 feet. Clark rolled into a double play that scored Darnell. A sacrifice fly from Blake Jones scored Mieszkowski in the third. "They're (UCM) going to keep coming so it's important to keep getting runs for sure," Darnell said. The last two runs for the Lions were freebies as well as Mieszkowski again got hit by a pitch with the sacks full in the seventh, and then Parker was walked with them loaded in the ninth. "I think the game boils down to the first inning and the inning when they (MSSU) scored the sixth run," Crookes noted. Advertisement UCM had swept MSSU in the regular season, outscoring the Lions 44-19 in three games. The Lions have now won consecutive MIAA tournament meetings against the Mules. "We were 2-2 against them last year. We've played them in this tournament three straight years. We've beat them twice. They're an awesome program. But, what I mean by that is our guys are ready to play," Darnell said. "Credit to our guys. Their competitive spirit was great today." Luikart led the Lions with three hits going 3 for 5 with two runs scored. Mieszkowski, Townsend, Filip and Darnell each added two hits. Mieszkowski and Parker led the team with two RBIs apiece. The Lions drew five walks to go along with 12 hits.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Affordable housing projects in Springfield in the works
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The lack of affordable housing in Springfield continues to be a drawback for residents, but some projects are coming to address that. On Monday, Springfield City Council was introduced to a proposed zoning ordinance that if approved would create 32 single-family residential homes on a plot of land near Talmage and Grant. 'The comprehensive plan highlighted that Springfield currently has a shortage of housing units that are only attainable at the lowest income levels, and this shortage disproportionately impacts renter-occupied housing,' Senior Planner Michael Sparlin said. 'By encouraging higher density residential development, the city can provide a higher range of unique unit types sizes and price points within future development.' It's an updated plan for developer Mike Stalzer, who in 2023 was open to buying the plot of land from a local church and not just building homes, but also turning an old gym on the property into apartments. Chimney Rock neighborhood development passed by Springfield City Council 'We were going to redevelop the gymnasium into apartments, but I decided it probably would be better just to demolish the building and go with the single-family homes,' Stalzer said in a Planning and Zoning hearing last month. When Ozarks First originally covered the story in 2023, several neighbors were voicing concerns about the increase in traffic and the proximity of the building to a nearby school. At the January P&Z meeting, one woman spoke and said her concerns were addressed with the updated plans and another still voiced opposition to the project as a whole. At the first reading of the bill to Springfield City Council on Feb. 10, no one spoke before the council. Stalzer's project isn't the only one going on in Springfield looking to address affordable housing. Last week, members of The Vecino Group broke ground on their effort called 'Sankofa,' a four-story development aiming to bring affordable housing to C-Street. '[Sankofa] integrates both a business incubator and a street-level retail. It's going to deliver 42 brand new, affordable homes that serve as households, serve households at below 60% area medium income, and the idea of it will be to provide a strong path forward through job and business counseling for residents,' Jordan Gibson with The Vecino Group said. 'The incubator space will be managed by the Multicultural Business Association to focus on the success of minority-owned businesses for Springfield, and this is the first new from-the-ground-up development for Commercial Street in more than 50 years.' Springfield City Council passes bill that criminalizes storm drain obstructions The Vecino Group specializes in affordable housing. 'We have over 60 communities that we have developed in the past 14 years,' Gibson said. 'We have lots of different affordable housing options for just different populations and different needs, and we have supportive services that we offer on-site with local non-profits in those areas to help provide the services for those individuals and their needs.' Jordan says affordable housing isn't just a Springfield issue, but a nationwide one. 'I think the state of affordable housing in Springfield is the same as it is across the US. It's the national crisis, prices of rent, housing, utilities, essentials,' Gibson said. 'Everything is just really going up these days and it makes it very difficult from the cost of living perspective and people are able to bring home from an income to provide the basic needs for their ultimate thriving of their lives. To be the best version of yourself that starts with stable, affordable housing.' Sankofa is expected to open in 2026. Springfield City Council is expected to vote on the Talmage/Grant project on February 24. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
