Pittsburg, Kan. - Last weekend, the Missouri Southern baseball team was one of four to host a first round, best of three series to open the MIAA Baseball Championships. As the two seed, the Lions hosted the seven seeded Northwest Missouri Bearcats. Missouri Southern took the series in two games, winning 12-1 on Friday and 10-4 on Saturday, punching their ticket to the next round. The remainder of the Championship will be played at Pittsburg, Kansas starting on Thursday, May 9 through Sunday, May 12. 

"Game Two"
Teams: Two-Seeded Missouri Southern (39-13, 24-9 MIAA) vs Three-Seeded Pittsburg State (34-16, 22-11 MIAA)
Date: May 9 (Thursday)
First Pitch: 5:00pm
Location: Pittsburg, Kan.
Sites: Al Ortolani Field
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Next Up

• The winner advances to "Game Three" at 11:00am on Friday to face the winner of "Game One" between one-seeded Central Missouri and five-seeded Washburn.
• The loser will play in "Game Four" at 3:00pm on Friday against the loser of "Game One" between one-seeded Central Missouri and five-seeded Washburn.

MIAA Tournament Information

Last Time Out

• The seven-seeded Northwest Missouri Bearcats were in Joplin for the first round, best of three series
• Game one on Friday needed just seven innings, as the Lions won that contest 12-1
• That game was powered by a big fourth inning featuring seven Southern runs
• Cole Gayman tossed 6.0 of those innings, giving up 1 run on 2 hits, striking out 4 in the process
• Will Doherty and Garrett Rice each went 3-4 with 2 RBI, Doherty with a double and 2 runs scored
• Ethan Clark drove in 3 runs and Nate Mieszkowski drove in 2 more with a 2-3 day at the plate
• The series was won by Missouri Southern with a 10-4 victory on Saturday
• Northwest Missouri jumped ahead early, but the Southern offense came to life in the fifth, sixth, and eighth innings
• Garrett Rice was a perfect 5-5 at the plate, 3 of those going for doubles, driving in 4 runs as well
• Drew Townsend had a 3-5 day, recording 2 doubles and a home run
• Nate Mieszkowski was the other Lion with a multi-RBI day, driving in 2 on a pair of hits

Missouri Southern Quick Hitters

• Henry Kusiak has broken six records this year, five Missouri Southern records and one MIAA record. At MSSU, he became the program's sole leader in career runs batted in, career hits, total bases, at-bats, and extra base hits. On Saturday, Kusiak set the MIAA record for most career at-bats. He has started all 52 contests this season, leading the Lions with a .390 batting average, .513 on base percentage, and .700 slugging percentage. Of his 78 hits, 17 have gone for two bases, 3 triples, and a team-high 13 home runs. He has driven in 55 runs, scored 69, and walked 39 times this year. Additionally, Kusiak has been named the MIAA Hitter of the Week twice this season, and recently earned first team All-MIAA and Gold Glove honors. 
• Will Doherty is hitting .387 this season, recording an MIAA-high 82 hits. Of those hits, 21 have been doubles (2nd most in MIAA), 2 triples, and 10 home runs. He leads the team in the runs batted in category as well, driving in 64 (2nd most in MIAA) this spring. Doherty was named third team All-MIAA Third Base by the league.
• Garrett Rice is hitting .350 on the year, collecting 16 doubles, 1 triple, and 9 home runs for a .626 slugging percentage. He has driven in 58 runs and scored 42 himself.
• Drew Townsend has drawn an MIAA-leading 52 walks on the year, hitting .316 at the plate. Of his 62 hits, 11 have been doubles, 1 triple, and 12 home runs for 36 RBI.
• Cole Gayman has won 10 games in 14 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 85.2 innings pitched this year, he has given up 57 hits, 23 earned runs, and 35 walks, striking out 84 batters in the process. He is holding opposing hitters to a .184 average and has an ERA of 2.42, both being MIAA bests. Along with those categories, Gayman also leads the MIAA in innings pitched, batters struck out looking, and runs allowed. In all of NCAA Division II, his 10 victories ranks 5th, hits allowed per nine innings is 8th, earned run average is 15th. 
• Trent Harris is 5-0 on the season, striking out 61 over 59.1 innings pitched with a 5.16 ERA
• Keaton Anderson has started four games this season, holding a 4-0 record with an ERA of 3.00. Over his 45.0 innings pitched, Anderson has struck out 32 batters and is holding opponents to a .222 batting average.
• Out of the bullpen, Laif Hultine and Kyle Moore have each recorded 5 saves this season, combining for 60 strikeouts as Moore has 35 and Hultine has 25 on the year.

The Opponent - Pittsburg State

• In the regular season series between Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State, the Lions claimed the series with game one (6-1) and game three (3-1) victories. The Gorillas took game two by a score of 5-4
• PSU won 9 of their final 11 games of the regular season, sweeping Missouri Western and Newman, taking two out of three against Fort Hays State
• They also won their first round, best of three series in two games, defeating six seeded Rogers State 11-1 and 6-1
• Dylan Kurahashi-Choy Foo (#12) leads the team with a .398 batting average, collecting 72 hits in 181 at-bats. He has driven in a team-high 58 RBI and leads the team with 18 doubles
• Nixon Brannan (#29) has hit a team-leading 15 home runs and driven in 48 runs, drawing 28 walks as well
• Austin Warkins (#35) has a .303 batting average on the year, recording 13 doubles, 1 triple, and 12 home runs with 50 RBI
• Tanner Leslie (#7) has started 14 games this year, recording an ERA of 5.22. He has given up 44 runs on 77 hits over 70.2 innings, striking out 52 and walking just 14 in the process
• Brady Pacha (#24) has thrown 53.1 innings in 13 starts, recording a 5.91 ERA. His 64 strikeouts lead the team, walking 39 as well
• Cole Askew (#14) has appeared in 21 games as a relief pitcher, tossing 23.2 innings with 5 saves on the year

In the Rankings

• Southern jumped up to #7 in the most recent NCBWA National Rankings, maintaining the #2 spot in their Regional Poll
• In last week's NCAA Division II Regional Rankings, the Lions were ranked #2 in the Central Region
• The ABCA has been coming out with a National Poll since the middle of March, placing the Lions at #5 most recently

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