Warrensburg, Mo. - The Missouri Southern baseball team will hit the road for the final time this regular season, traveling to Warrensburg, Missouri. They'll face Central Missouri who has already claimed the MIAA regular season championship and is currently the #2 team in NCAA Division II.

Game Information:
Teams: #9 Missouri Southern (36-11, 23-7 MIAA) vs #2 Central Missouri (41-5, 27-3 MIAA)
Dates: April 26-28 (Friday-Sunday)
First Pitch: 1:00pm, 12:00pm, 12:00pm
Location: Warrensburg, Mo.
Sites: Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field
Live Stats
Live Video

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Scouting the Lions
The Lions held steady at the #9 spot in the latest NCBWA National Poll. They remain second in both the NCBWA Central Region Poll and MIAA standings behind Central Missouri. Also in the NCAA's first week of Regional rankings, Southern was one of ten schools recognized, listing the programs in alphabetical order.

MSSU 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. In game two of the spread out series with Rogers State, the Lions found all kinds of ways to score, winning it 13-4. On the road against Northwest Missouri, Southern dropped game one 6-5 in 11 innings, took game two 7-5 in 12 innings, then fell in game three to suffer their first series loss of the season. They bounced back with a big series win, taking two out of three against #19 Central Oklahoma. In their two victories, the Lions run-ruled the Bronchos, taking game two 11-1 in seven innings and game three 17-6 in eight innings. 

Wrapping up their spread out series with Rogers State, the Hillcats took game three by a score of 8-4 to avoid the season sweep. The team bounced back with a big weekend, sweeping Northeastern State on the road by scores of 5-1, 13-9, and 11-1 in seven innings. In their second contest against Drury and final non-conference game of the regular season, the Lions fell to the Panthers 11-4. The team ended their regular season home schedule with a bang, sweeping Missouri Western by scores of 5-0, 14-6, and 9-3. 

Henry Kusiak has broken five records this year, becoming the program's sole leader in career runs batted in, career hits, total bases, at-bats, and extra base hits. He has started all 47 contests this season, leading the Lions with a .383 batting average, .513 on base percentage, and .700 slugging percentage. Of his 69 hits, 15 have gone for two bases, 3 triples, and a team-high 12 home runs. He has driven in 52 runs, scored 62, and walked 37 times this year. Additionally, Kusiak has been named the MIAA Hitter of the Week twice this season. Among MIAA hitters, he has the second highest on base percentage, ranking third in hits and runs scored.

Will Doherty is hitting .374 this season, recording a team-high 71 hits. Of those hits, 17 have been doubles, 2 triples, and 10 home runs. He leads the team in the runs batted in category as well, driving in 59 this spring. In the MIAA rankings, Doherty has the second most hits and at-bats, ranking third in runs batted in. 

Ethan Clark has recorded 60 hits for a .343 batting average, driving in 37 runs and scoring 40 as well. His 17 doubles and 3 triples are both tied for team-highs. Drew Townsend continues to lead all of NCAA Division II in walks, drawing 50 this season. He has also crossed the plate 58 times. Garrett Rice is hitting .317 on the year, recording a .606 slugging percentage with 12 doubles, 1 triple, and 9 home runs. He has driven in 50 runs, crossing the plate 39 times himself. Earlier this season, Rice was named an MIAA Hitter of the Week. 

Cole Gayman has won nine games in 12 starts this year, leading to five total MIAA POTW honors, two NCBWA Central Region Pitcher of the Week awards, and one NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week honor. Over his 74.2 innings pitched this year, he has given up 46 hits, 16 earned runs, and 30 walks, striking out 79 batters in the process. He is holding opposing hitters to a .173 average and has an ERA of 1.93, both being MIAA bests. Along with those categories, Gayman also leads the MIAA in innings pitched, batters struck out looking, wins, runs allowed, and earned runs allowed. In all of NCAA Division II, his 9 victories ranks 3rd, hits allowed per nine innings is 5th, earned run average is 7th, and strikeouts is 15th. 

Trent Harris picked up another win on Saturday, now 5-0 on the season. He has 61 strikeouts over 55.0 innings pitched with a 4.58 ERA. Out of the bullpen, Laif Hultine has picked up 5 saves this season, upping his career total to 15. The program record for most career saves is currently 17. In his 27.1 innings pitched, Hultine has retired 25 via the strikeout. Keaton Anderson has started two games this season, winning both of them. His record sits at 3-0 with an ERA of 2.81. Over his 32.0 innings pitched, Anderson has struck out 26 batters and is holding opponents to a .225 batting average. 

Scouting the Mules
The Central Missouri Mules are currently the #2 team in NCAA Division II baseball, bringing a 41-5 (27-3 MIAA) record into the final series of the regular season. Of their five losses, just one of those have been on their home turf. Two of their five losses occurred in the first three games of the season, dropping a 15-13 contest to #7 Millersville, then a 16-4 final score to then #3, now #1 Tampa. Following that loss, the Mules won 10 in a row that included two MIAA victories over #9 Central Oklahoma. They dropped the final game of that series 17-7 in Warrensburg. Another streak then began, winning 11 in a row. Washburn ended that run, taking game three of that series 10-9 in Topeka. Central Missouri picked back up, winning 13 in a row that included series sweeps of Fort Hays State, Newman, and Pittsburg State. After UCM took game one 21-7 in 7 innings at Emporia State, the Hornets bounced back with a 15-5 victory in game two. The Mules would win the series with a 5-1 final in game three, beginning the six game win streak they are currently on. They swept Rogers State in that mix and most recently defeated Drury 12-2 in 7 innings on Tuesday. 

Brennen van Breusegen (#48) leads the team and is second in the MIAA with a batting average of .408 on the year. His .860 slugging percentage and 1.365 OPS are both at the top of the MIAA, along with his 18 home runs this season. In addition, he has recorded 11 doubles and 3 triples, driving in 53 runs. Max Holy (#7) leads the team and MIAA with 61 runs batted in and 28 stolen bases, scoring the MIAA's second most runs at 63 behind teammate Carter Young. With 22 on the year, Young (#29) leads the conference in doubles and has also hit 13 home runs. Holy and van Breusegen have each been named MIAA Hitter of the Week twice this season.

Conner Wolf (#36) will likely start Friday's contest for the Mules. He has a 9-0 record in 12 starts this year, recording a 3.57 ERA. Over his 68.0 innings pitched, he has surrendered 28 runs on 52 hits, striking out 64 in the process. Jake Wilson (#26) has started 11 games for the Mules, keeping a 4-0 record on the season. His ERA is 4.47 over 46.1 innings pitched, striking out 38 in the process, giving up 12 home runs. Jack Kriesman (#19) has made 14 appearances, starting 9 of those for a 4-1 record. He has struck out 33 over 39.0 innings pitched, holding a 4.85 ERA. The team has a total of 6 saves, two coming from Harrison Babbitt (#34) and another two from JD McReynolds (#47). They have a combined record of 8-1 and 46 total strikeouts.