Joplin, Mo. - The Missouri Southern Baseball team will play at home again on Tuesday before hitting the road later this week. For the second time this year, the Lions will take on the Rogers State Hillcats in a midweek contest. Each MIAA team has a three game series spread throughout the season, taking place during the week. In the first game of this series, the Lions won 5-1 at Claremore, Oklahoma on March 12.      

Game Information:
Teams: Missouri Southern (26-6, 13-3 MIAA) vs Rogers State (16-11, 8-8 MIAA)
Date: March 26 (Tuesday)
First Pitch: 3:00pm
Location: Joplin, Mo.
Site: Warren Turner Field
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Scouting the Lions
The Lions jumped back to #8 in the most recent NCBWA poll, and they take a 26-6 (13-3 MIAA) record into Tuesday's contest with Rogers State. In the MIAA standings, MSSU is second behind Central Missouri. 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 midweek 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. In the first of the split up midweek series with Rogers State, Bryce Darnell won his 500th game as the head coach of the Lions with a 5-1 victory. Their eight game win streak came to an end in game two against Pittsburg State, but the Lions closed out the series with a 3-1 victory to take the series two games to one. The Lions took a break in MIAA action with a midweek contest against Drury, outlasting the Panthers 10-8. Returning to conference play, the Lions took two out of three against Washburn, winning game one 3-0 and game three 11-8 but dropping game two 7-5. 

Henry Kusiak has broken three records this year, becoming the program's all-time hits leader, recording the most total bases, and most at-bats in program history. He leads the team in nearly every hitting category, recording a .429 batting average (51-119), collecting 11 doubles, 2 triples, and 11 home runs this season for an .832 slugging percentage. From those hits, he has driven in 44 runs and scored 43 himself. Additionally, Kusiak was named the MIAA Hitter of the Week on February 26. He leads the conference in runs scored, runs batted in, and hits, ranking second in the MIAA in batting average, on base percentage, and on base plus slugging percentage. 

Will Doherty has driven in 41 runs so far this season and has crossed the plate 40 times. Of his 46 hits, 11 have been doubles, 2 triples, and 8 home runs. He is hitting .359 with an OPS of 1.125. In the MIAA rankings, Doherty leads the league in at-bats, claiming the second spot in hits, runs batted in, and runs scored. 

Leadoff batter Drew Townsend enters Tuesday's contest 38-116 (.328) with 6 doubles, 6 home runs, 18 RBI, and 40 runs scored. His .512 on-base percentage is second on the team, as he has drawn an NCAA Division II leading 39 walks this year. 

Cole Gayman has won seven games in eight starts this year, leading to three MIAA POTW awards and one NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week honor. Over his 49.2 innings pitched this year, he has given up 24 hits, 7 earned runs, and 19 walks, striking out 52 batters in the process. He is holding opposing hitters to a .138 average and has an ERA of 1.27. Cale McCallister has a 3-1 record on the year, retiring 38 by strikeout over his 39.2 innings pitched. Out of the bullpen, Kyle Moore has recorded 5 saves and 2 wins over 26.2 innings pitched, striking out 25 batters. 

Scouting the Hillcats
The Rogers State Hillcats enter Tuesday's contest at 16-11 (8-8 MIAA) on the year. 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. Rogers State then went on a five game skid, dropping three to Pittsburg State, one to MSSU, and the other to Emporia State. That streak ended with a 6-4 victory over ESU, but they dropped the final game of that series. Most recently, the Hillcats took two out of three against Northwest Missouri State, winning games one and two by scores of 7-4 and 8-3, dropping game three 11-9. RSU currently sits at 6th in the MIAA standings. 

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 .318 (34-107) with 7 doubles and 2 triples, driving in 14 RBI and leading the team with 27 runs scored. Joel Escalante (#24) leads the team with 3 home runs and has the second most RBI at 21. Matthew Delgado (#35) leads the RBI category with 23 on the year, hitting .315 with 6 doubles and a triple. Jake Mitchell (#21) is leading the team with a .321 average, drawing a team-high 29 walks and 3 home runs. 

Nate Wohlgemuth (#14) got the nod when the teams met earlier this month. He threw 4.0 innings, surrendering 4 runs on 5 hits. Colton Anderson (#20) and Blake Johnson (#3) have each started 8 contests, both with a .500 record. Johnson leads the team with 36 strikeouts over 36.1 innings, and Anderson has a 5.12 ERA with 26 strikeouts over 38.2 innings.