Joplin, Mo. -- The ninth-ranked Missouri Southern baseball team will be back on the road this weekend as the Lions travel to Hays, Kan. for a matchup with the Fort Hays State Tigers on Friday and Saturday.
Game times for the series begin with a single game on Friday night at 5 pm and a double-header on Saturday at noon.
The Lions (15-3, 9-3 MIAA) are sitting two games out of first place in the MIAA behind Central Missouri. The Lions and Mules will have a key series next weekend in Joplin at Warren Turner Field.
Southern is led offensively by
Troy Gagan as he leads the team with a .375 average, seven home runs and 18 RBIs. Gagan ranks ninth nationally in home runs, while leading the MIAA in home runs and total bases.
Zach Parish leads a strong pitching staff and is tops in Division II in wins this year sporting a 5-0 record on the season. He leads the MIAA in games started, strikeouts and wins, while ranking third in strikeout to walk ratio.
Will Bausinger is 4-1 and is second in the MIAA in strikeouts, while ranking ninth nationally in that category.
Cole Woods leads the MIAA with four saves and is fourth nationally, while ranking tenth nationally in appearances and leading the conference in that category.
As a team, the Lions lead the MIAA in doubles, doubles per game, ERA, fielding percentage, hits allowed per nine innings (fewest), home runs, shutouts, strikeout to walk ratio, strikeouts per nine innings, walks and hits per inning (WHIP) and walks allowed per nine innings (fewest). The Lions rank sixth nationally in strikeout to walk ratio, while ranking ninth in WHIP, 11th in ERA, 12th in walks allowed per nine innings, 14th in both home runs and shutouts and 18th in strikeouts per nine innings.
FHSU (2-14, 2-10 MIAA) is coming off a three-game sweep at the hands of Rogers State. The Tigers are led offensively by Drake Angerton with a .344 batting average. He has 21 hits in 61 at-bats this season. Corbin Truslow and Garrett Stephens are tied for the team lead with three home runs, while Truslow, Stephens and Ed Scott are tied with a team-high nine RBIs.
Jake Campbell has both wins for the Tigers and leads the team with 26 strikeouts.
All three games will feature live stats and live video and links for both can be found above in the story links.
