Joplin, Mo. --  Hayden Steele had a grand slam and Cody Hutchinson threw seven strong as the 19th-ranked Missouri Southern baseball team defeated Northwest Missouri 7-6 today at Warren Turner Field. 

Southern (24-10, 14-9 MIAA) was led by Steele's grand slam, his fifth home run of the season, as he drove in four and scored a run. Jacob Bryant, Brett Graham and Tyler Sutherland each had two hits, while Chris Hoffman had a hit of his own. Jesse Rall had two walks and a pair of runs scored, while Hoffman and Graham drove in a run each. Hoffman had a double, while Sutherland added a triple.

Hutchinson started and went seven innings, striking out four and allowing just three earned runs to move his record to 4-4 on the season. Hoffman threw an inning and two thirds of relief, allowing one run, while Zach Litchen got the final out and earned save number two. 

Northwest (17-16, 12-11 MIAA) had three hits and three RBIs from James Holler as he hit two home runs in the game. 

Northwest went on top first with two unearned runs in the second. The Bearcats added two more runs in the third on Holler's first home run. 

Southern, however, answered back with five runs of its own in the fourth. Sutherland tripled to start the inning and after a Rall walk, Hoffman doubled down the right field line to score Sutherland and put runners at second and third. Matt Smith walked to load the bases and after a fly-out, Steele unloaded the bases with his bomb to left. 

The Bearcats scored a run in the fifth, but Southern answered back with a run in the sixth and the seventh. Bryant drove in Graham in the fifth and the Lions picked up an unearned run in the seventh to go up 7-5. 

Northwest scored a run in the eighth but it was not enough. 

The two teams will be back in action tomorrow afternoon with the series finale. First pitch from Turner Field is slated for 1 pm.