Joplin, Mo. -- Jacob Taylor smashed two
homers to move within one of tying the school's all-time single
season record to lead the Missouri Southern Lions to a doubleheader
sweep of the Southwest Baptist Bearcats Sunday afternoon (May 2) at
Joe Becker Stadium. Overall, the Lions notched three wins on
the day by first completing the suspended game from Saturday (May
1) with a 4-0 victory. The Lions then won the first game of
the doubleheader 9-3 and the nightcap 14-4.
The Lions clinched a spot in this week's MIAA Postseason
Tournament in Kansas City, Kan. The Lions appear to be the
No. 5 seed, which would set up a matchup against No. 2 seed Emporia
State on Thursday (May 6). The top six seeds in the
conference advance to the Postseason tourney.
RBI singles by Taylor and Michael Zurmehly helped the Lions
take a 3-0 lead when the game was halted in the fifth inning
yesterday due to severe weather in the Joplin area.
When the game resumed this afternoon, CJ Maffei took over on the
mound for starter Garrett Groom and pitched three spotless
innings. Maffei allowed only one hit over the
final three innings to pick up his second save of the
season.
Groom blanked the Bearcats over the first four innings with
three strikeouts for his sixth win of the season.
Shayne Hoke gave the Lions a little insurance with a solo homer
to lead off the sixth inning.
The Lions then got going in the first game of the
doubleheader with four runs in the bottom of the second.
Fernando Lugo singled home Taylor for the Lions' first run before
Patrick Deao brought home Hoke with an RBI double.
Dane Kolkmeyer then brought home Lugo with an RBI
single and Zach Caldwell plated the Lions' fourth run with a
sacrifice fly that scored Deao.
The Lions added two more in the third on solo shots from Lugo
and Taylor.
Skyler Rawlins made it 7-0 with an RBI single in the fourth
before the Bearcats tried to make things interesting with three
runs in the fifth.
Jason Barnhart and Taylor Trotter each produced RBI doubles in
the inning, while Kyle Wise added an RBI single.
But the Lions added single tallies in the fifth and sixth inning
to pull away for the win.
Deao tripled home CJ Matthews in the fifth and Rawlins chased
home Caldwell with an RBI double in the sixth.
After running into trouble in the fifth, Carter Lance held the
Bearcats hitless for the final two innings. Overall, Lance
pitched a complete game and allowed only three runs with five
strikeouts to earn his sixth victory of the season.
It didn't take long for the Lions to jump all over the
Bearcats (11-38, 9-30 MIAA) again in the nightcap, as an error
and a wild pitch led to a pair of unearned runs in the
first.
The Lions (25-24, 19-18 MIAA) then busted the game wide-open
with eight runs in the bottom of the second.
Joe Lincoln powered the inning with a two-run homer, his 11th
blast of the season. Kolkmeyer also hit a two-run double in
the inning and Zurmehly scored Taylor on a sacrifice fly.
Lee Hall and Taylor continued the offensive onslaught for the
Lions by hitting back-to-back homers in the third inning that made
it 12-0. It was Hall's first career homer and for
Taylor his 15th of the season.
Kevin Humphrey got the win after throwing a complete game and
giving up four runs and striking out five.
Overall the Lions hit six homers today in the doubleheader
and the last two innings of the suspended game, which gave them 59
on the season. The 59 homers this season shatters the old
school record of 51 homers set back in 1989.
The Lions and Bearcats will conclude the four-game series with a
single game tomorrow evening (May 3) at 6 p.m.
