Claremore, Okla. - Following a three game home series with UCO, the Lions begin a four game road trip, starting with a single contest at Rogers State. This will be the third midweek meeting between the teams this season, Missouri Southern looking to complete the sweep as they won 5-1 at Claremore on March 12 and took game two 13-4 on March 26 in Joplin.
Game Information:
Teams: #9 Missouri Southern (30-9, 17-6 MIAA) vs Rogers State (19-16, 10-13 MIAA)
Dates: April 9 (Tuesday)
First Pitch: 3:00pm
Location: Claremore, Okla.
Site: Diamond Sports Complex
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Scouting the Lions
The Lions were ranked at #9 in the most recent NCBWA poll, remaining second in both the Central Region rankings and MIAA standings. 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. 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.
Henry Kusiak has broken four records this year, becoming the program's all-time hits leader, recording the most total bases, at-bats, and extra base hits in program history. On Sunday, Kusiak tied the program's career RBI record, needing one more to set a new record. He leads the team in nearly every hitting category, recording a .412 batting average (61-148), collecting 13 doubles, 3 triples, and 12 home runs this season for a .784 slugging percentage. From those hits, he has driven in 50 runs and scored 51 himself. Additionally, Kusiak has been named the MIAA Hitter of the Week twice this season. He leads the conference in hits, runs batted in, and on base percentage, ranking second in the MIAA in runs scored and third in batting average, OPS, and hit by pitch.
Will Doherty has driven in 46 runs so far this season and has crossed the plate 49 times as well. Of his 55 hits, 13 have been doubles, 2 triples, and 8 home runs. He is hitting .350 with an OPS of 1.072. In the MIAA rankings, Doherty leads the league in at-bats, ranking fourth in hits and runs scored, fifth in runs batted in.
Ethan Clark has recorded 48 hits for a .331 batting average, driving in 30 runs and scoring 30 as well.
Drew Townsend continues to lead all of NCAA Division II in walks, drawing 44 this season. He has also crossed the plate 47 times.
Garrett Rice is coming off a solid weekend, earning him MIAA Hitter of the Week honors. He went 7-13 at the plate with 10 RBI. Of his seven hits, three went for extra bases in two doubles and a home run.
Cole Gayman has won seven games in 10 starts this year, leading to four total MIAA POTW awards and one NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week honor. Over his 59.2 innings pitched this year, he has given up 36 hits, 15 earned runs, and 26 walks, striking out 65 batters in the process. He is holding opposing hitters to a .168 average and has an ERA of 2.26.
Trent Harris recorded a win against UCO on Saturday, tossing 6.0 innings. He gave up 1 run on 4 hits, striking out 8 in the process. Out of the bullpen,
Kyle Moore has recorded 5 saves and 2 wins over 31.0 innings pitched, striking out 28 batters.
Michael Moore also had a good weekend, throwing 6.0 innings over two games with an ERA of 0.00. He struck out 7, giving up just 3 hits, walking 0 batters.
Scouting the Hillcats
The Rogers State Hillcats enter Tuesday's contest at 19-16 (10-13 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. Following that series, 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. After their 13-4 loss at Missouri Southern, Rogers State has suffered series losses to Washburn and Northeastern State, dropping two of three games in both series. However, they just set a program record for most runs scored in a single contest at home, defeating NSU 21-13 on Sunday. 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 .324 (44-136) with 8 doubles and 2 triples, driving in 19 runs and leading the team with 41 runs scored. Jake Mitchell (#21) is leading the team with 6 home runs and 35 walks, driving in 23 runs as well. Matthew Delgado (#35) leads the RBI category with 29 on the year, hitting .339 with 6 doubles and a triple.
Nate Wohlgemuth (#14) has been the starter for both contests against the Lions. He threw 4.0 innings in both contests, surrendering 4 runs on 5 hits in game one and 5 runs on 4 hits in game two. Colton Anderson (#20) and Blake Johnson (#3) have each started 10 contests, Anderson with a 3-3 record and Johnson at 2-3. Johnson leads the team with 41 strikeouts over 46.2 innings, and Anderson has a 4.18 ERA with 38 strikeouts over 51.2 innings.
