Shawnee, Okla. - The Missouri Southern Baseball team continues play on the road, traveling to Shawnee, Oklahoma to face the Oklahoma Baptist Bison for the second time this season. On February 13, the Lions hosted the Bison and claimed a 21-6 run-rule victory on their home turf. Tuesday's game is scheduled for 3:00pm.  

Game Information:
Teams: Missouri Southern (14-3, 2-1 MIAA) vs Oklahoma Baptist (9-5, 3-3 GAC)
Date: February 27 (Tuesday)
First Pitch: 3:00 PM
Location: Shawnee, Okla.
Site: Bobby Cox Field at Ford Park
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Live Video

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Scouting the Lions
The Lions remain #14 in the most recent NCBWA poll, taking a 14-3 record into this Tuesday's mid-week matchup with Oklahoma Baptist. They began the year with a big 7-2 victory over #17 Southern Arkansas, and Cole Gayman was named the National Pitcher of the Week for his performance. The offense exploded in game two, winning 16-4 over Henderson State. Another strong offensive performance occurred the next day as the Lions defeated Arkansas-Monticello 10-6. Ouachita Baptist took the final game of the opening tournament, 8-1. In their first mid-week contest with SWOSU, MSSU plated a few late, but fell 7-4 to the Bulldogs. The Lions outscored the Tigers 26-2 in their home opening series, taking game one 15-1 in seven innings, game two 6-0, and game three 5-1. In another mid-week contest, the Lion bats exploded for 21 runs against Oklahoma Baptist, ending it 21-6 in seven innings. Missouri Southern then picked up five wins in four days with big victories over MSU-Mankato 2-1, Illinois Springfield 5-2, and Northeastern State 14-6. In their first MIAA series, they took two out of three against Fort Hays State, taking game one 14-10, game two 23-5, and dropping game three 5-3. 

Henry Kusiak leads the team with a .413 batting average (26-63), collecting 8 doubles, 1 triple, and 4 home runs this season. He has driven in 26 runs and scored 22 himself, and leads the team with a slugging percentage of .762. After this past week, Kusiak is now 6 hits from tying the MSSU all-time hits record. 

Will Doherty leads the team with 5 home runs, going 23-64 (.359) at the plate with 2 doubles and 2 triples along with his 5 home runs. His 24 RBI ranks second on the team and he has crossed the plate 22 times this year. 

Leadoff batter Drew Townsend enters Tuesday's contest 19-55 (.345) with 2 doubles, 3 home runs, 11 RBI, and 23 runs scored. His .570 on-base percentage leads the team, as he has drawn an NCAA Division II leading 26 walks this year. 

Cole Gayman has made four starts this year, leading to a pair of awards in the MIAA POTW the NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week. Over his 22.0 innings pitched this year, he has given up 14 hits, 6 earned runs, and 10 walks, striking out 26 batters in the process. He is holding opposing hitters to a .179 average. Cale McCallister and Trent Harris have each picked up a couple of wins as well. McCallister has struck out 25 over 20.1 innings pitched, and Harris has retired 22 by strikeout over 21.0 innings. Out of the bullpen, Kyle Moore has recorded 3 saves over 13.0 innings pitched, striking out 13 batters. 

Scouting the Bison
The Oklahoma Baptist Bison enter Tuesday's competition with a 9-5 record, going 3-3 since the teams met earlier this year. To begin the year, OBU played at the UCO Festival in Edmond, OK. In their first game of the season, the Bison run-ruled the Pittsburg State Gorillas, 17-5 in 8 innings. They followed with a 6-2 win over Emporia State, but suffered a 6-3 loss to Central Oklahoma. This past Thursday-Saturday they swept a four game series with New Mexico Highlands, winning 17-5, 10-7, 7-5, and 10-8. On February 13, OBU came to Joplin to take on the Lions, where MSSU won via the run-rule 21-6 in seven innings. Since then, they swept a three game series against Arkansas Tech, but most recently got swept in a three game series against Harding. 

Spencer Dickinson (#9) leads the team with a .381 (16-42) batting average. He has picked up 9 RBI on 2 doubles and a home run. Isiah Lissade (#1) has recorded 20 hits, 3 doubles, 1 triple, and 2 home runs for an average of .357 with 3 successful stolen base attempts. Troy Shields (#33) and Alex Schroeder (#30) have driven in most of the team's runs, collecting 15 and 18 RBI respectively. 

Brek Galbreath (#15) is 2-0 on the year, striking out 20 batters in 22.0 innings pitched. His ERA sits at 4.91 as he has given up 12 earned runs and a .308 opposing batting average. Cameron Pool (#4) is 3-1 this year, pitching 20.0 innings with 21 strikeouts. He has also surrendered 17 earned runs for a 7.65 ERA. Three different pitchers have recorded two saves each, led by Bryant Thorton (#16) who has tossed 10.0 innings with 9 strikeouts.