Joplin, Mo. -- The No. 11 Missouri Southern baseball team will open up MIAA play this weekend as the Lions head to Emporia State to take on the Hornets. Game times are 4 pm on Friday, 2 pm on Saturday and noon on Sunday.
The Lions (13-1) sport the top record in the MIAA this season and are coming off a three-game sweep of Southwest Minnesota. Emporia State is 8-6 on the season and split a four-game series with then No. 17 Augustana this past weekend.
About the Lions
Southern leads the MIAA in walks, hits allowed per nine innings (fewest), home runs, home runs per game, runs scored, scoring, slugging percentage, stolen bases, strikeout to walk ratio, and strikeouts per nine innings. The Lions rank in the top ten in Division II in nine different offensive and defensive categories, including fourth in stolen bases, sixth in WHIP and hits, seventh in walks and eighth in ERA.
Individually,
Zach Parish leads the MIAA and Division II in strikeouts with 45 so far and Parish is just nine K's from tying the MIAA career record of 349.
Will Bausinger is second in the MIAA in strikeouts, while
Zac Shoemaker ranks fourth.
Logan VanWey is fourth nationally and first in the MIAA in saves with four, while Parish leads Division II and the MIAA with four wins and is tops in the league with a 0.38 ERA.
Brad Willis ranks 14th nationally in walks, while
Jordan Fitzpatrick is third in the league in steals and
Clay Milas and
Dexter Swims rank fourth and ninth, respectively.
Troy Gagan is first in the MIAA in runs scored and 14th nationally.
Joe Kinder is second in the MIAA in home runs.
Scouting the Hornets
As a team they are ranked tenth in the league in batting average at .253 but are third with a .389 on base percentage. They have a team ERA of 5.27 and are ranked fifth with 111 strikeouts. The Hornets have turned a league high 11 double plays in 14 games. Blake Carroll is in the top ten of the MIAA in on base percentage, runs scored, home runs and stolen bases. Jake Barton ranks third in the MIAA with 34 strikeouts and is ninth with a 2.66 ERA.
Live Coverage
Live stats of the games will be available by clicking on the link above or by going to the baseball schedule.
Up Next
The Lions will be back in action next week as Southern will host Washburn at Warren Turner Field.
