Claremore, Okla. - The Missouri Southern Baseball team hits the road for the first time this month after playing back-to-back three game series at home. They'll head to Claremore, Oklahoma to face the Rogers State Hillcats in a midweek, single game contest.   

Game Information:
Teams: Missouri Southern (20-4, 8-1 MIAA) vs Rogers State (13-7, 5-4 MIAA)
Date: March 12 (Tuesday)
First Pitch: 2:00pm
Location: Claremore, Okla.
Site: Diamond Sports Complex
Live Stats
Live Video

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Scouting the Lions
The Lions were ranked #10 in last week's NCBWA poll, taking a 20-4 (8-1 MIAA) record into this midweek contest at Rogers State. 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 Ouachita Baptist 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. MSSU fell to Oklahoma Baptist in their second meeting this year, splitting the season series with the Bison. In the first MIAA series of the year, the Lions swept the Jets by scores of 15-0, 7-6, and 11-9. They picked up a second straight series sweep against Emporia State, 5-0, 11-7, 11-8.

Henry Kusiak has broken two records this year, becoming the program's all-time hits leader and recording the most total bases in program history. He leads the team in nearly every hitting category, recording a .432 batting average (38-88), collecting 8 doubles, 2 triples, and 8 home runs this season for an .841 slugging percentage. From those hits, he has driven in 35 runs and scored 35 himself. Additionally, Kusiak was named the MIAA Hitter of the Week on February 26. 

Will Doherty leads the team in RBI, driving in 36 so far this season. Of his 37 hits, 7 have been doubles, 2 triples, and 7 home runs. He is hitting .389 and has crossed the plate 33 times this year.

Leadoff batter Drew Townsend enters Tuesday's contest 32-81 (.395) with 4 doubles, 5 home runs, 17 RBI, and 34 runs scored. His .590 on-base percentage leads the team, as he has drawn an NCAA Division II leading 35 walks this year. 

Cole Gayman has made six starts this year, leading to a pair of awards in the MIAA POTW the NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week. Over his 34.0 innings pitched this year, he has given up 17 hits, 6 earned runs, and 17 walks, striking out 35 batters in the process. He is holding opposing hitters to a .144 average and has an ERA of 1.59. Cale McCallister and Trent Harris have each picked up a couple of wins as well. McCallister has struck out 29 over 28.0 innings pitched, and Harris has retired 31 by strikeout over 27.1 innings. Out of the bullpen, Kyle Moore has recorded 3 saves and 2 wins over 21.1 innings pitched, striking out 21 batters. 

Scouting the Hillcats
The Rogers State Hillcats currently have a 13-7 (5-4 MIAA) record heading into Tuesday's contest with MSSU. Like Missouri Southern, Rogers State kicked off their 2024 season in Hot Springs, AR at the Dugan Invitational. However, the Hillcats went 0-2 in that tournament, falling to Henderson State 5-2 and #17 Southern Arkansas 17-4. In their first series of the year, the Hillcats won three out of four against Colorado Christian, then swept McKendree in three close contests. Those wins were the start of a nine game win streak that included victories over Southern Nazarene, three against Newman, Northwestern Oklahoma State, and the first against Fort Hays State. The Tigers ended that streak with a game two win in extra innings, but RSU took game three and the series with an 11-4 final score. Against Pittsburg State, Rogers State dropped the first contest 12-0 in seven innings, then dropped game two 3-2. The series wrapped up Monday, as RSU fell 11-0 in seven innings. 

AJ Folds (#4) was the week five MIAA Hitter of the Week, going 10-14 at the plate with back-to-back four hit games. He also surpassed 100 career hits and became the first Hillcat to record two triples in a single contest. On the season, Folds is hitting .377 (29-77) with 6 doubles and 2 triples, driving in 14 RBI and leading the team with 21 runs scored. Joel Escalante (#24) leads the team with 3 home runs and has the second most RBI at 16. Matthew Delgado (#35) leads the RBI category with 17 on the year, hitting .277 with 6 doubles and a triple. Jake Mitchell (#21) is hitting .268 but has drawn a team-high 21 walks. 

In their two midweek contests this year, RSU has started two different arms on the mound. Nate Wohlgemuth (#14) threw 2.0 scoreless innings against Southern Nazarene and Quinn Tocheniuk (#31) tossed 2.0 scoreless innings against Northwestern Oklahoma State. Colton Anderson (#20) and Blake Johnson (#3) have each started 6 contests, both with a .500 record. Johnson leads the team with 27 strikeouts over 29.0 innings, and Anderson has a 4.11 ERA with 22 strikeouts over 30.2 innings.