Joplin, Mo. -- The 19th-ranked Missouri Southern baseball team scored nine unanswered runs and hit five home runs, but the Lions could not complete the comeback as Northwest Missouri won 19-15 in the series finale today at Warren Turner Field.
Southern (24-11, 14-10 MIAA ) hit five home runs on the day, led by two from
Jesse Rall. Rall went 3-for-6 with four driven in and four runs scored, adding a double, as well. The two home runs give Rall 16 on the season, tying the MSSU single-season record, which he also tied last season.
Tyler Sutherland and
Chris Hoffman both had four hits each, as Sutherland had three runs scored and one RBI, while Hoffman drove in three and scored twice.
Matt Smith went 1-for-2 with a grand slam, four driven in and two runs scored, while
Hayden Steele went 2-for-4 with a three-run shot and two runs scored.
Brett Graham scored twice, while
Jacob Bryant added a run of his own.
Matt Harvey started and went two and two thirds, striking out for, but suffered the loss and moved his season record to 1-1.
Kyle McCulloch threw four and a third of solid relief, striking out four, while
Conner Matson and
Zach Litchen had an inning each.
Northwest (18-16, 13-11 MIAA) was led by Garrett Fort who went 5-for-6 and drove in six, scoring twice.
The Lions started the scoring with a two-run blast from Rall in the first inning. Northwest scored three in the second and six in the third, before Rall added his second two-run shot of the afternoon, cutting the lead to 9-4.
But Northwest opened the game up with six more runs in the fourth to lead 15-4 after four.
The Lions chipped away at the lead scoring single runs in the fifth on a Hoffman RBI and another run in the sixth, this time on a Sutherland RBI. Southern had the first of two big innings when the Lions scored three in the seventh on Steele's home run and added four more in the eighth on Smith's grand slam to cut the lead to just two, 15-13.
The Bearcats, however, scored four more runs in the ninth to re-take a six-run lead before Hoffman's home run in the ninth made the final tally.
Southern will be back in action on Wednesday as the Lions head to Pittsburg State for a single, nine-inning game with the Gorillas. First pitch is slated for 6 pm.
