Joplin, Mo. - The Lion baseball team was back at Warren Turner Field Saturday afternoon, hosting Missouri Western in game two of their weekend series. Missouri Southern secured the series win with a 14-6 victory on Senior Day Saturday. That win improves the team's record to 35-11 (22-7 MIAA) on the year.
The visitors were the first on the board, scoring a run in the first inning. That didn't last long, as the Lions responded in a big way. Three runs were scored in the first inning to put the Lions ahead, scoring on a bases loaded hit by pitch, then a walk, followed by a sacrifice fly.
Garrett Rice,
Nate Mieszkowski, and
Tyler Ferguson each picked up an RBI in the inning.
Following that inning, MSSU plated nine runs in the second inning for a 12-1 lead.
Will Doherty,
Garrett Rice, and
Tyler Ferguson drew bases loaded walks, and
Nate Mieszkowski was hit by a pitch also with the bases loaded, bringing home four runs.
Garrett Rice later scored on a wild pitch, then
Chayton Beck hit a single to left to score Mieszkowski. Later in the inning,
Drew Townsend tripled home a pair of runs, then scored on a ground out.
Missouri Western scored a run in the third then another in the fifth, but Southern scored another in their half of the fifth for a 13-3 score.
Ethan Clark scored that run, coming on a fielder's choice.
The visitors plated three runs in the seventh, but the Lions got one back in their half of the inning thanks to a
Will Doherty single that scored
Henry Kusiak. Things were pretty quiet for the remainder of the game, ending 14-6 in favor of Missouri Southern.
Trent Harris was credited with the win, tossing 6.0 innings on the day. He gave up 3 runs on 8 hits, striking out 4 in the process.
Nate Mieszkowski had a team-high 3 RBI on the day, drawing 2 walks in the process.
Drew Townsend,
Will Doherty, and
Garrett Rice each had 2 RBI on 2 hits, Townsend scoring 3 runs as well and adding another to his walk total this season.
Game three of the series will take place on Sunday, scheduled to start at 1:00pm at Warren Turner Field.
