Joplin, Mo. – The Missouri Southern baseball team hosted the Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats for their conference opener. The Lions take the conference opening series with a 16-3 win, fueled by a seven-run inning and multiple home run.
Missouri Southern (10-2, 3-0 MIAA) | Northwest Missouri (4-7, 0-3 MIAA)
Missouri Southern 16 | Northwest Missouri 3 – 7 Innings
In the first inning, Northwest Missouri State took a 1-0 lead. Missouri Southern quickly responded as
Ethan Clark hit a solo home run to left field, tying the game at 1-1.
Jacob Filip grounded out to second base, allowing
Brayden Luikart to score, putting the Lions up a 2-1.
Ethan Clark hit a double to center field, driving in three runs as
Drew Townsend,
Cy Darnell, and
Nate Mieszkowski scored. Clark plated on a
Brayden Luikart double down the right-field line, extending Southern lead to 6-1 in the second inning.
The Bearcats added a run in the third inning, bringing the score to 6-2.
In the fourth inning, Northwest Missouri State plated one run, 6-3.
Missouri Southern responded with a seven-run inning.
Will Doherty kicked off the inning with a two-run homer to left field, scoring
Brayden Luikart and increasing their lead to 8-3. Later in the inning,
Cy Darnell hit a three-run home run to left field, pushing the score to 11-3. Missouri Southern kept piling on when Luikart's RBI singled to center field to extend the lead to 13-3.
Missouri Southern wrapped up their scoring with
Will Doherty's second home run of the day, a three-run shot for a 16-3 win.
Will Doherty went 3-for-5 with three hits, five RBIs, a double, and two home runs.
Brayden Luikart went 3-for-3 with three hits, three RBIs, and a double.
Ethan Clark went 3-for-4 with three hits, four RBIs, two doubles, and a home run.
Owen Schneider started on the mound for the Lions and earned the win, pitching 2.1 innings and striking out two while facing 14 batters.
Keaton Anderson followed with 2.2 innings, recording five strikeouts against 12 batters.
Walker Sweet pitched one inning in relief, striking out one over four batters faced.
Caden Carter contributed 0.2 innings, adding two strikeouts.
Cole White closed the game, pitching 0.1 innings and retiring the final batter on a flyout.
Stat Tracker:
- Hits: Ethan Clark (3), Brayden Luikart (3), Will Doherty (3), Josh Filip (2), Cy Darnell (2), Dawson Townsend (1), Nate Mieszkowski (1)
- RBI: Will Doherty (5), Ethan Clark (4), Brayden Luikart (3), Cy Darnell (3), Josh Filip (1)
- 2B: Ethan Clark (2), Brayden Luikart (1), Will Doherty (1)
- HR: Will Doherty (2), Ethan Clark (1), Cy Darnell (1)
- HBP: Ethan Clark (1)
- Pitching:
- Owen Schneider (W, 2-0): 2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 SO
- Keaton Anderson: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO
- Walker Sweet: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO
- Caden Carter: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO
- Cole White: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO
Up Next:
The Lions will hit the road on Friday, February 28, to face the Washburn University Ichabods. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. at Falley Field.
-Lions-
