JOPLIN, Mo. — The Missouri Southern baseball team banged out 22 runs and 24 hits on the day as the Lions swept Missouri-St. Louis and Northwest Missouri State in the final day of the 2019 MIAA/GLVC Challenge at Warren Turner Field.
Southern (7-3) defeated Missouri-St. Louis (0-2) 10-7 in the opener and then scored eight unanswered runs to take out Northwest Missouri (4-6) in the finale.
Game one saw Zac Shoemaker start and go six innings, striking out seven and walking just one to move his record to 1-0 on the season with the win. River Wright, Colin Chandler and Cam Bednar threw in relief for the Lions.
Ryan Hunter went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a home run in the game to lead the offense for the Lions. Davin Gummere had three hits with a run and an RBI, while Denver Coffee had a home run and two RBIs and Troy Gagan drove in two. Matt Miller had an RBI, while Freddie Landers scored twice.
The Lions scored twice in the second and fourth innings, while putting across three runs each in the fifth and sixth.
Game two saw the Lions come-from-behind to take out Northwest Missouri. Zach Parish started and went four innings, striking out six, but Bradly Hershey threw two scoreless innings of relief to pick up his first win of the season (1-0). Logan VanWey threw a scoreless inning, striking out the side, while Cole Woods went two innings for his first collegiate appearance, striking out four and walking none, while allowing just one hit.
Phillips led a trio of Lions with two RBIs each as he, Landers and Miller drove in a pair each. Landers added his second home run of the season, while Coffee added his second triple of the year. Phillips scored three runs, while Landers scored twice.
The Lions will be back in action next weekend (Feb. 22-24) as they start MIAA play with a trip to Edmond, Okla. to take on Central Oklahoma.
