Tahlequah, Okla. -- The Missouri Southern baseball team team led 4-3 after the top of the seventh, but Northeastern State scored a run in the bottom of the seventh and another in the eighth to go ahead and hold off the Lions, 5-4 today in the series opener at Rousey Field. 

The Lions (31-17, 21-16 MIAA) were led offensively by Tyler Sutherland who went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Jacob Bryant, Chris Hoffman, Jesse Rall, Brett Graham, Richie Gorski and Matt Smith had a hit each. Gorski, Smith and Jackson Cain scored, while Bryant, Hoffman, Smith and Cain all drove in a run each. 

Payton Walker started for the Lions and went six innings, striking out four. 

Northeastern State (26-20, 20-16 MIAA) had three hits each from Dakota Woods and Eric Kirkpatrick, while Bryce Davenport had two hits. 

The RiverHawks scored in the third to go up 1-0, but the Lions tied the score with a run in the fifth on an RBI from Hoffman, scoring Cain. 

NSU scored two more runs in the bottom of the fifth, but Southern answered right back with two runs of its own in the top of the sixth to tie the game at three. Bryant and Cain had RBIs in the inning. 

Smith drove in a run in the seventh to put the Lions up 4-3, scoring Sutherland. 

NSU scored a run in the seventh on a home run and a bases-loaded walk in the eighth drove in the go-ahead run. 

The two teams will be back in action tomorrow afternoon. First pitch is slated for 2 pm.