Joplin, Mo. - Following a four game stretch on the road, the Missouri Southern baseball team was back at Warren Turner field Tuesday evening. They played host to non-conference opponent Drury University, a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The visitors took the second meeting of the season 11-4, moving the Lions to 33-11 (20-7 MIAA) on the season.
Cale McCallister retired the first two Panthers on strikeouts, sitting the first three batters down in order. Drury bounced back with a three run second inning, never looking back. They picked up another two in the third, taking a 5-0 lead.
Ethan Clark and
Henry Kusiak led off the bottom of the fourth with back-to-back singles, but the Panthers were able to get out of the threat unharmed. Over the next several innings, the visitors plated four more runs to take a 9-0 lead heading into the eighth.Â
Drew Townsend and
Ethan Clark put together back-to-back base knocks, then
Henry Kusiak walked to load the bases. Getting the Lions on the board was
Will Doherty, poking one through the left side.
Garrett Rice then walked home a run and
Drew Davis sent one deep to right field to score Kusiak on a sacrifice fly.Â
Drury got back two of those runs in the ninth to push their total to 11. In the bottom of the ninth,
Ryan Cline drew a one out walk, then stole second. After another out,
Ethan Clark doubled home Cline for Southern's final run, 11-4.Â
Ethan Clark finished 3-5 with a double. He drove in a run and scored another himself.
Will Doherty also picked up a couple hits on the day, one being a double. He also had an RBI and drew a walk as well. The nation's leader in walks,
Drew Townsend, added another to his total and recorded a hit and a run scored.Â
The Lions will host Missouri Western this weekend in their final home series of the regular season. Friday's contest will be at Joe Becker Stadium as part of the team's Throwback Game. They'll be back at Warren Turner Field for Saturday and Sunday's games.
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