Joplin, Mo. – The No. 8 seed Missouri Southern baseball team faced off against the No. 1 seed University of Central Missouri Mules in the 2025 MIAA Baseball Championship quarterfinals. The Lions jumped out to an early lead in the first inning and continued to build on it throughout the game. Backed by a strong defense and a solid outing from pitcher
Owen Schneider, Southern held Central Missouri to just two runs to secure a 7-2 victory.
No. 8 Missouri Southern (28-23) | No. 1 Central Missouri (38-11)
Southern opened the game with a strong offensive showing in the first inning.
Drew Townsend walked to start things off, followed by
Ethan Clark and
Brayden Luikart, each hitting singles and loading the bases.
Nate Mieszkowski was hit by a pitch, allowing Townsend to score the first run.
Jacob Filip then drew a walk to bring in another run, and
Treghan Parker grounded out to second base, driving in the third run for a 3-0 lead.
In the second inning,
Cy Darnell doubled to left field and later scored on
Ethan Clark's groundout, extending the Lions lead to 4-0.
Nate Mieszkowski scored on a sacrifice fly from
Blake Jones, making it 5-0 in the third inning. The Mules responded in the bottom of the third with their first run, cutting the deficit to 5-1.
The sixth inning saw Central Missouri add a run, pushing the score to 5-2.
Southern added another run in the seventh when
Nate Mieszkowski was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, allowing
Drew Townsend to score, bringing the score to 6-2.
The Lions capped the scoring in the ninth inning with a
Brayden Luikart single, and after loading the bases,
Treghan Parker drew a walk to bring in the final run. The MIAA quarterfinals ended with Missouri Southern taking the game, 7–2.
Brayden Luikart had two runs and three hits in his game.
Nate Mieszkowski contributed significantly with two hits, two RBIs, and two hit-by-pitches, adding five assists.
Cy Darnell contributed significantly with two runs and two doubles.
Jacob Filip had two hits and an RBI. The Lions tallied 12 hits.
Casey Stalzer started on the mound and pitched 2.1 innings, where he faced 12 batters.
Owen Schneider took over in relief, delivering a strong performance across 6.2 innings, allowing just one hit and one run while striking out eight batters.
Stats Tracker
- Hits: Brayden Luikart (3), Drew Townsend (2), Nate Mieszkowski (2), Jacob Filip (2), Cy Darnell (2), Ethan Clark (1)
- RBI: Nate Mieszkowski (2), Treghan Parker (2), Jacob Filip (1), Blake Jones (1)
- SH: Cy Darnell (2)
- SF: Treghan Parker (1), Blake Jones (1)
- HBP: Nate Mieszkowski (2)
- Pitching:
- Casey Stalzer: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO
- Owen Schneider (W, 5-3): 6.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 SO
Up Next:
The Lions advance to the 2025 MIAA Baseball Championship semifinals, where they will face the No. 4 seed University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos on Friday, May 9. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 PM.
The Missouri Southern baseball season is presented by Arvest Bank, a proud supporter of Lion Athletics.
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