Joplin, Mo. – The 25^th-ranked Missouri Southern baseball team will open up the 2021 MIAA Baseball Championships this weekend as the Lions play host to Central Oklahoma in the quarterfinal round at Warren Turner Field.
 
The Lions (29-11) and Bronchos (22-18) will play a best-of-three series that will begin at 3 pm on Friday afternoon. Saturday's game will be at 1 pm and Sunday's if-necessary game will begin at 1 pm.
 
Southern took two-of-three from the Bronchos this season winning games one and two before dropping the finale in extra innings. The two teams have met once in postseason play with  UCO nipping the Lions 2-1 in 2017 in the MIAA Tournament in Joplin.
 
Southern was well-represented on the All-MIAA team that was released yesterday by the league office. Zach Parish was named the MIAA Pitcher of the Year for the second season in a row, while freshman Tommy Stevenson was named the MIAA Freshman of the Year.
 
Parish became the NCAA Division II all-time leader in strikeouts this past week as he struck out eight in a win against Rogers State. In his career, Parish now has 479 strikeouts.
 
This season, Parish leads the MIAA and ranks third nationally in strikeouts. He is second in the MIAA and third nationally in wins, while ranking first in the MIAA and sixth nationally in WHIP. He ranks first in the MIAA and eighth nationally in hits allowed per nine innings, while ranking first in the MIAA and fourth nationally in ERA and first in the MIAA and third nationally in starts. Currently Parish is the active career leader in all of college baseball (d1, d2, d3) in wins, strikeouts, innings pitched and starts.
 
Stevenson leads the MIAA and ranks fourth nationally in doubles this season. He is second nationally among freshmen in that category. Stevenson also ranks fourth in the MIAA in home runs, second in RBIs and fifth in total bases. This year, Stevenson is hitting .329 with 19 doubles, 12 home runs and 49 RBIs. The 49 RBIs are third-most in Division II amongst freshmen.
 
Parish was joined on the All-MIAA first-team by Troy Gagan. Gagan ranks third in the MIAA and 7^th nationally in doubles, while leading the MIAA in hits and ranking seventh in on-base percentage.
 
Jordan Fitzpatrick and Stevenson were both named to the All-MIAA second-team. Fitzpatrick has been a sparkplug for the Lions at the top of the order. This year, Fitzpatrick leads the MIAA and is fourth nationally in doubles, while leading the MIAA and ranking 13^th nationally in hits. He is fourth in the league in home runs with four of his 12 this year coming to lead off the game. 
 
Joe Kinder, Will Bausinger and Henry Kusiak were all named to the All-MIAA third-team, while Dexter Swims and Scott Duensing earned honorable mention accolades. Matt Miller, as well as Parish were named to the Gold Glove team, as the top defensive players at their positions.
 
The Bronchos are the 6^th seed in the Championship this year. UCO is led by Garrett Takamatsu with a .373 batting average and five home runs and 29 RBIs. Kyle Crowl leads the team with 11 homers and 36 driven in, while Phillip Scott has a team-high 17 doubles. Brayden Nelson is 6-2 with a 3.23 ERA and 40 strikeouts, while Luke Anderson leads the team with 68 strikeouts on the season.
 
Anderson and Crowl were second-team All-MIAA selections for the Bronchos, while Takamatsu was a third-team pick.
 
All three games will be carried live on The MIAA Network, as well as Fox Sports Joplin as Kevin Welch and Bobby Landis bring you the action live. Links to both video and audio, as well as live stats are available by clicking on the story links above.