Joplin, Mo. -- Missouri Southern senior lefty Payton Walker went the distance for third complete game of the season and the 19th-ranked baseball Lions defeated visiting Northwest Missouri 7-4 tonight in the first game of the weekend series. 

Southern (23-10, 13-9) got a 3-for-5 performance from Jacob Bryant as the senior scored a pair of runs. Tyler Sutherland, Jesse Rall and Brett Graham had a pair of hits each, while Richie Gorski hit his seventh home run of the season. Gorski, Sutherland and Graham drove in a pair each as Chris Hoffman, Hayden Steele and Danny Biggs each scored a run. 

Walker struck out six in nine innings, allowing just two earned runs and scattering seven hits to move his record to 6-2 on the year. 

For the Bearcats (17-15, 12-10 MIAA) Kevin Handzlik had three hits, while Aaron Barratt had two hits. 

Northwest got on the board first with a run in the second inning. With runners at the corners, Walker got the runner on first in a run-down, but before the Lions could get the third out, the runner from third scored to put the Bearcats up 1-0 in the second. 

The Lions answered back with four runs in the third and started the scoring with a two-run shot from Gorski, scoring Bryant. Matt Smith drove in Rall for the third run and Brett Graham doubled down the left field line to score Hoffman who had doubled earlier in the inning. 

Southern added two more in the fifth starting with an RBI from Sutherland. Rall added an RBI of his own on a single that scored Biggs.

Northwest scored three in the top of the sixth to cut the lead to two (6-4), but the Lions added their final run in the sixth on a Sutherland RBI single up the middle, scoring Steele. 

The two teams will be back in action tomorrow afternoon with a single, nine-inning game beginning at 1 pm.