Joplin, Mo. – The Missouri Southern baseball team scored eight runs over the fifth and sixth innings and took out visiting Missouri Western 13-5 today to win the series and secure the 6
th seed in next week's MIAA Baseball Tournament Opening Round.
With the win, Southern (28-21, 17-16 MIAA) secures the 6
th seed in the MIAA Tournament and will play a three-game series at Pittsburg State on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It will be best-of-three with the winner advancing to the next round of the MIAA Tournament to be held in Edmond, Okla. a week later.
The Lions had big days at the plate from
Jordan Fitzpatrick and
Matt Miller as both had three hits, a pair of doubles and a pair of RBIs, while Fitzpatrick scored three times and Miller added an intentional walk.
Nate Mieszkowski went 4-for-5 with an RBI and four runs scored, while
Henry Kusiak and
Ryan Doran drove in two runs each. Kusiak added two stolen bases as the Lions swiped five bags in the contest.
Tommy Stevenson went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run, while
Chayton Beck and
Drew Davis drove in a run each. Davis and
Treghan Parker scored a run each.
Laif Hultine started and went five and two thirds, striking out four to get the win and move to 3-4 on the season.
Scott Duensing,
Chase Beiter and
Ryan Paschal all threw in relief.
Western (13-32, 9-24 MIAA) got three RBIs from Alex Crouch and a pair from Brenden Anderson.
The Griffons got on the board first with a run in the second and another in the third to lead 2-0 heading to the bottom of the third.
The Lions, however, answered right back and scored three runs in the third to lead 3-2 after three. Beck drove in Fitzpatrick to get things started and Miller doubled home Mieszkowski to tie the game. Kusiak then singled home Miller to give the Lions the lead.
Miller doubled home Fitzpatrick in the fifth before an RBI groundout from Kusiak scored Mieszkowski to make it 5-2 after five.
An RBI single from Fitzpatrick scored Stevenson in the sixth, before the Lions pulled off a double-steak of second and home and Davis scored to make it 8-2. Mieszkowski and Doran had back-to-back doubles to make the score 11-2 after six.
Western added three in the seventh before the Lions scored two more in the eight for the final tally.
Southern will be back at it next weekend with a best two-of-three series at Pittsburg State. Each of the games will be broadcast live on SOMO-Sports Radio and a live video stream will be available on The MIAA Network.
