Joplin, Mo. – The Missouri Southern baseball team will be in action this weekend as the Lions travel to fifth-ranked Central Missouri for a three-game series on Friday-Sunday at Crane Stadium.
 
The Lions (23-12, 13-7 MIAA) are in the midst of a five-game winning streak that saw the Lions win four games last week against Rogers State and Fort Hays State and take a mid-week game from Missouri S&T.
 
Last week, Southern had a 25-2 win over Rogers State where Matt Miller tied an MSSU single-game record with three home runs, while knocking in eight RBIs in the process. Miller was named the MIAA Hitter of the Week for his efforts.
 
The Lions had an outstanding week all-around in their four games. As a team, Southern hit .381 with two players hitting over .500. Miller hit .571, while Henry Kusiak hit .538 with nine runs scored, three home runs and six RBIs.
 
The Southern pitchers were just as effective as the team posted a 0.56 ERA and a 4 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio, striking out 40 batters on the week. Logan VanWey had 14 strikeouts in his seven-inning shutout of FHSU, while Jacob Davis struck out nine batters in seven innings of his win over FHSU.
 
Southern has been an extra-base machine this season as the Lions rank second in Division II doubles and home runs, while ranking third in triples, fifth in slugging, seventh in hits and tenth in runs scored. The pitchers are ranked third nationally in shutouts, while ranking 18^th in strikeout to walk ratio and 19^th in strikeouts per nine innings.
 
In the MIAA, the Lions lead the league in doubles, doubles per game, hits, home runs, runs scores, shutouts, slugging, strikeout to walk ratio, walks allowed per nine innings and triples, while ranking second in batting average, ERA, home runs per game, and walks and hits per inning pitched. In total, the Lions rank in the top three of 18 different categories in the MIAA.
 
Individually, Tommy Stevenson ranks ninth nationally in total bases, while ranking 13^th in home runs and 14^th in slugging. Stevenson leads the MIAA in OPS, runs per game and slugging, while ranking second in walks and third in total bases. Jordan Fitzpatrick ranks third nationally in doubles, and 12^th in sacrifice flies, while leading the MIAA in each category. Henry Kusiak ranks eighth nationally and second in the MIAA in triples. Treghan Parker ranks 18^th nationally and fourth in the MIAA in RBIs.
 
Logan VanWey has turned up the heat as of late. In his last four starts, VanWey is 3-0 with a 0.67 ERA, including 48 strikeouts and just two earned runs allowed. On the season, VanWey is second nationally and leads the MIAA in strikeouts, while ranking eighth in strikeouts per nine innings and tenth in starts. He leads the MIAA in both of those, as well. Scott Duensing and Ryan Paschal rank second nationally in appearances, while leading the MIAA.
 
The Lions hit .322 as a team and carry a 5.00 team ERA, ranking second in the league in both of those categories.
 
Central Missouri (26-4, 19-1 MIAA) come in with a .320 batting average and a 3.67 team ERA. The Mules lead the league in pitching and rank third in hitting.
 
John Prudhom has a team-high .349 batting average, ten home runs and 34 RBIs. On the mound, the Mules will send Collin Jones, Max Abramovich and Jacob Merrithew up against the Lions this weekend. Jones leads the team with 44 innings pitched and is 6-0 on the season.
 
All three games will feature live stats and live audio. Links to each can be found in the story links section above.
 
After this game, the Lions will have a mid-week game at Rogers State on Tuesday afternoon, before heading to Newman next weekend.