Joplin, Mo. - The 13th ranked Missouri Southern baseball program will play host to Newman in the first round of the MIAA Baseball Tournament beginning on Friday, May 5th at 1:00pm from Warren Turner Field. 

The Lions (38-12, 25-8 MIAA) are coming into the game with a 23-5 record at home going 17-2 in the last 20 games at Warren Turner Field. Overall against Newman the Lions have a 7-2 record winning all six prior games in Joplin and will mark the first postseason game against each other. 

As a team Southern is hitting .331 with 10.0 runs. 11.6 hits, 2.5 doubles, 2.1 home runs, 4.5 walks drawn and 0.8 stolen bases per game. The pitching staff has a 5.78 ERA and 1.60 WHIP from 417.1 innings with opponents hitting .288 and striking out 8.3 times per game.

Freshman of the Year, Ethan Clark leads the team with a .400 average and finished the regular season with 68 hits and 54 RBIs. Nate Mieszkowski is hitting .387 with 71 runs scored, 84 hits, 18 doubles, four triples, 12 home runs and 58 RBIs. Matt Miller is hitting .369 with 59 runs scored, 69 hits, 10 doubles, three triples, 22 home runs and 73 RBIs. Henry Kusiak is hitting .348 with 59 runs scored, 72 hits, 17 doubles, 13 home runs and 55 RBIs. Garrett Rice is hitting .341 with 57 runs scored, 60 hits, 10 doubles, 10 home runs and 40 RBIs. Will Doherty is hitting .308 with 37 runs scored, 49 hits, 12 doubles, six home runs and 37 RBIs. Treghan Parker is hitting .301 with 58 runs scored, 49 hits, 11 doubles, two triples, 16 home runs and 56 RBIs. 

Cole Woods leads the pitching staff and is projected to start a game this weekend after finishing the regular season with a 9-2 record, 3.62 ERA and 1.16 WHIP from 13 starts, 77.0 innings while striking out 91 and limiting opponents to a .240 average. Cole Gayman has a 6-0 record, 5.30 ERA and 1.57 WHIP from 13 appearances, 10 starts, 56.0 innings while striking out 49. Kyle Moore has an 8-3 record, 4.40 ERA and 1.23 WHIP from 21 appearances, one start, 59.1 innings while striking out 54 and limiting opponents to a .241 average. Laif Hultine has a 2-2 record and six saves from 22 appearances for a 3.94 ERA, 1.13 WHIP from 32.0 innings striking out 37 and limiting opponents to a .230 average.

Newman (22-28, 14-19 MIAA) are coming into the game with a 6-17 road record on the season with wins over Pittsburg State and Northeastern State in their final road conference series this season. This will be the programs first ever MIAA Tournament appearance and first ever postseason action overall since the 2014 season. 

As a team the Jets are hitting .319 with 8.3 runs, 10.5 hits, 1.8 doubles, 1.4 home runs, 4.9 walks drawn and 1.5 stolen bases per game. The pitching staff has a 7.96 ERA and 1.92 WHIP from 399.1 innings with opponents hitting .318 and striking out 7.3 times per game.

Co-Player of the Year, Jenner Steele leads the team with a .423 average, 54 runs scored, 85 hits, 16 doubles, 20 home runs and 65 RBIs. Jake Angelico is hitting .349 with 53 runs scored, 65 hits, 13 doubles, 11 home runs and 63 RBIs. Jason Schneider is hitting .339 with 49 runs scored, 62 hits, 12 doubles, five triples, six home runs and 30 RBIs. Eli Wohl is hitting .314 with 38 runs scored, 49 hits, seven doubles, two triples, four home runs and 33 RBIs. Jack Kiser is hitting .301 with 31 runs scored, 40 hits, seven doubles and 20 RBIs.

The projected starting rotation for the Jets will be Garrett VanDeventer, Nate Denniston and Asher Finke.  VanDeventer has a 6-4 record, 6.25 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in 13 starts for 76.1 innings striking out 56 and holding opponents to a .284 average. Denniston has a 4-5 record, 6.38 ERA and 1.74 WHIP in 12 starts for 67.2 innings striking out 60 and holding opponents to a .330 average. Finke has a 4-6 record, 8.63 ERA and 2.18 WHIP in 12 starts for 56.1 innings striking out 64 and holding opponents to a .329 average. Andrew Prieve has appeared in 19 games for a 1-4 record with two saves, 8.57 ERA and 2.05 WHIP from 21.0 innings with 33 strikeouts and .300 opponent batting average. Ian Lecki has appeared in 19 games for a 3-1 record with three saves, 10.17 ERA and 2.03 WHIP from 25.2 innings with 31 strikeouts and .339 opponent batting average.