JOPLIN, Mo. — The No. 19 ranked Missouri Southern baseball team went up 5-0 and held on to win 13-7 today over visiting Fort Hays State on Warren Turner Field.
Southern (17-6, 9-2 MIAA) had a great day at the plate from Freddie Landers as he went 4-for-5 with three RBIs, three runs scored, two doubles and a home run. Denver Coffee went 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs and three runs scored, while Troy Gagan went 2-for-5 with a home run, two RBIs and a run. Alex Phillips had two RBIs, while Davin Gummere scored twice. Dexter Swims, Mike Million and Calem Nutting all scored a run each. Dan Lenz had a 2-for-5 day with an RBI, while Calem Nutting had an RBI and a run scored.
Zac Shoemaker started and went six innings to move his record to 2-1 on the season. Bradly Hershey, River Wright, Austin DesRosche and Cam Bednar threw in relief.
Fort Hays (2-17, 2-9 MIAA) had three hits from Taylan Mullins-Ohm.
The Lions got on the board first with three runs in the opening frame. Coffee doubled home Gummere to start the scoring and Landers followed up with an RBI double of his own to score Coffee. Million then doubled home Landers.
Gagan had an RBI double to score Gummere in the second, while Phillips had a sacrifice fly, scoring Landers in the third to make the score 5-0.
The Tigers picked up two runs in the bottom of the third, but the Lions answered right back with a sacrifice fly from Coffee to score Swims to go up 6-2. Gagan and Coffee homered in the seventh to put the Lions up 8-2, before the Tigers scored three runs in the bottom half to make the score 8-5 and then added two more in the eighth to get within one (8-7) going to the ninth.
Southern added five insurance runs in the ninth to put the game away. Landers had a two-run homer to get the scoring started and then Phillips singled home Million. Nutting then tripled home Phillips, before Lenz drove him home with a single.
The two teams will be back at it tomorrow with a noon first-pitch from Turner Field.
