St. Joseph, Mo. – The 25^th-ranked Missouri Southern Baseball team fell victim to a ninth-inning comeback as Missouri Western scored two in the final frame to defeat the Lions 6-5 today in St. Joseph.
 
Southern (19-12, 7-10 MIAA) got a 3-for-5 day from Johnny Balsamo as the lead-off hitter scored three runs and added a double. Alex Phillips had a home run, while Mike Million was 2-for-4 in the game. Cory Canterbury, Alec Alvarez, Alex Wheeler, Kearon Redmon and Easton Fortuna had a hit each. Wheeler scored a run, while Canterbury, Alvarez and Joe Kinder had RBIs.
 
Zac Shoemaker started and went six and two thirds, striking out seven and walking none, while he allowed four runs for the no-decision. Logan VanWey threw the final inning and a third and was saddled with the loss to fall to 1-2 on the season.
 
Western (17-13, 10-7 MIAA) got three hits from Maurice Bruce, including the game-winner. He drove in two and scored once.
 
Southern got on the board first with a two-run home run from Phillips.
 
After Western added a run in the bottom half of the first, the Lions added a single run in each of the second, third and fourth innings.
 
Kinder drove in Wheeler in the second, while Alvarez doubled home Balsamo in the third. The fifth run was scored on a Canterbury double in the fifth, scoring Balsamo.
 
Western scored two in the sixth, one in the seventh and two more in the ninth to take the game.
 
The Lions will be back in action on Tuesday afternoon, traveling to Central Oklahoma to take on the Bronchos in a mid-week MIAA game. First-pitch is slated for 3 pm.