Joplin, Mo. – The Missouri Southern baseball team hosted the Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats for their conference opener. In a thrilling 12-inning showdown, the Lions secured the victory with a walk-off RBI single. In game two, Southern surged ahead with a five-run third inning and maintained their lead to close out the day with a sweep.
Missouri Southern (8-2, 2-0 MIAA) | Northwest Missouri (4-6, 0-2 MIAA)
Game 1: Missouri Southern 6 | Northwest Missouri 5 – 12 Innings
Cole Gayman started for the Lions and recorded six strikeouts.
Northwest Missouri opened the scoring in the third inning, taking a 1-0 lead.
The Bearcats tacked on a run in the top of the fourth to extend their lead to 2-0. Southern answered in the bottom half of the inning, as Jake Leeker came home on a Cy Darnell triple to left center. With the bases loaded, Nate Mieszkowski was hit by a pitch, bringing Brayden Luikart across the plate to tie the game at 2-2.
Cy Darnell launched his first collegiate home run in the sixth inning, a solo shot that put the Lions ahead 3-2.
In the seventh, Northwest Missouri took a 5-3 lead with a three-run double.
Missouri Southern tied it in the eighth when Brayden Luikart drove in two runs with a single, 5-5.
In the ninth inning, Kyle Moore entered the game.
The game remained tied and headed into extra innings.
In the twelfth, Jake Leeker (singled) scored the game-winning run on an RBI single to center field from Ethan Clark. The Lions win 6-5.
Cy Darnell went 3-for-4 with three hits, two RBIs, one triple, one home run, one walk, and one stolen base. Ethan Clark went 3-for-7 with three hits, one RBI, and one strikeout. Brayden Luikart went 3-for-6 with three hits, two RBIs, and one run scored. The Lions totaled 15 hits.
Cole Gayman started for the Lions, recording six strikeouts while facing 25 batters and allowing just three hits. Laif Hultine followed, pitching 0.2 innings with one strikeout against five batters. Michael Moore took over for 1.0 inning, striking out two of the six batters he faced. Kyle Moore entered in the ninth inning and earned the win, tallying four strikeouts over 14 batters.
Stat Tracker:
- Hits: Cy Darnell (3), Brayden Luikart (3), Ethan Clark (3), Jacob Filip (2), Jake Leeker (2), Will Doherty (2)
- RBIs: Cy Darnell (2), Brayden Luikart (2), Ethan Clark (1), Nate Mieszkowski (1)
- 2B: Will Doherty (1), Jake Leeker (1), Jacob Filip (1)
- 3B: Cy Darnell (1)
- HR: Cy Darnell (1)
- SB: Cy Darnell (1)
- HBP: Treghan Parker (2), Nate Mieszkowski (1), Jacob Filip (1)
- SAC: Cy Darnell (1)
- Pitching:
Game 2: Missouri Southern 12 | Northwest Missouri 7
Casey Stalzer opened the game on the mound for the Lions.
Will Doherty drove in Drew Townsend on a sacrifice fly, putting the score 1-0 at the end of the first inning.
Southern continued their scoring into the second inning when Treghan Parker plated on a Drew Townsend single to center field. Townsend and Cy Darnell would later score on an Ethan Clark double, pushing the score to 4-0.
In the third inning, the Bearcats got on the board and evened the score at 4-4. The Lions responded with a five-run inning; Brayden Luikart stepped on home plate from a Jacob Filip single. Jake Leeker followed with a single, driving in Will Doherty. Leeker and Nate Mieszkowski later plated on a Drew Townsend single. With the bases loaded, Luikart was hit by a pitch, bringing Cy Darnell across the plate to extend the lead to 9-4.
Northwest Missouri State added a run in the fourth inning, making it 9-5.
In the seventh inning, Nate Mieszkowski homered to left field, bringing the score to 10-5. Cy Darnell doubled to right field, driving in Treghan Parker, making the score 11-5.
The Bearcats added two runs in the eighth inning. Nate Mieszkowski capped the Lions' scoring when he singled up the middle to score Will Doherty. Southern held their advantage and took the game 12-7.
Drew Townsend went 3-for-3, recording three hits, three RBIs, and drawing a walk. Nate Mieszkowski finished 2-for-4 with two hits, two RBIs, and two runs scored, including his first home run of the season. Cy Darnell was 2-for-5 with two hits and one RBI and tallied a double. The Lions recorded 13 hits.
Casey Stalzer started for the Lions, pitching 3.1 innings and recording four strikeouts while facing 18 batters. Trent Harris followed, earning the win with 4.1 innings pitched, striking out six and not allowing any hits while facing 18 batters. Kyle Kaempf closed the game, pitching 1.1 innings, striking out two and facing six batters.
Stat Tracker:
- Hits: Drew Townsend (3), Cy Darnell (2), Nate Mieszkowski (2), Brayden Luikart (1), Ethan Clark (1), Will Doherty (1), Jacob Filip (1), Jake Leeker (1), Treghan Parker (1)
- RBIs:Drew Townsend (3), Ethan Clark (2), Nate Mieszkowski (2), Brayden Luikart (1), Will Doherty (1), Jacob Filip (1), Jake Leeker (1), Cy Darnell (1), Treghan Parker (0)
- 2B: Ethan Clark (1), Cy Darnell (1)
- HR: Nate Mieszkowski (1)
- SF: Will Doherty (1)
- SB: Treghan Parker (1), Will Potter (1)
- HBP: Drew Townsend (1), Brayden Luikart (2)
- Pitching:
Up Next:
The Lions are back on their home field on Monday, February 24 as they continue their conference opener series against the Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats. First pitch is at 1:00 p.m. at Warren Turner Field.
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