Warrensburg, Mo. — The Missouri Southern volleyball team fell in its final match of the regular-season today, dropping a straight-set match at Central Missouri. Individual set scores were 9-25, 24-26 and 21-25.
The Lions (6-11, 5-3 MIAA) will get a first-round bye in the upcoming MIAA Postseason Tournament which will start next Friday and be hosted by Washburn. The Lions will play the winner of the Central Oklahoma – Fort Hays State game at 3 p.m. that Friday.
The Tournament will begin on Friday at Lee Arena in Topeka. The top seed in the North (Nebraska-Kearney) as well as the top two seeds in the South (Central Missouri and the Lions) receive first-round byes. The complete Tournament schedule is below.
Friday, April 16 schedule
11 a.m. (Court 1) – Central Oklahoma vs. Fort Hays State |WATCH LIVE
11 a.m. (Court 2) – Newman vs. Pittsburg State |WATCH LIVE
1 p.m. (Court 1) – Northwest Missouri State vs. Washburn |WATCH LIVE
1 p.m. (Court 2) – Emporia State vs. Missouri Western |WATCH LIVE
3 p.m. (Court 1) – Nebraska Kearney vs. Winner of Newman/Pittsburg State |WATCH LIVE
3 p.m. (Court 2) – Missouri Southern vs. Winner of Central Oklahoma/Fort Hays |WATCH LIVE
5 p.m. (Court 1) – Central Missouri vs. Winner of Emporia State/Missouri Western |WATCH LIVE
Saturday, April 17 schedule
SEMIFINAL #1: 11 a.m. (Main Court) – Team A vs. Team B |WATCH LIVE
SEMIFINAL #2: 1 p.m. (Main Court) – Team A vs. Team B |WATCH LIVE
CHAMPIONSHIP: 4 p.m. (Main Court) – Team A vs. Team B |WATCH LIVE
The Missouri Southern softball program split the double-header 5-3, 7-1 against #22 Rogers State today inside the Pat Lipira Softball Complex.
Southern (17-12-1, 8-5-1 MIAA) scored the first run of the game in the first inning on aMakaila Leonhart delayed steal home, before adding another in the second to lead after two innings 2-1.
Kara Amos hit a two-RBI double to centerfield scoringAdrianna Young andJosie Tofpi in the third inning stretching out the Lion led to 4-1. Rogers State (21-11, 10-6 MIAA) responded with two runs in the top of the fourth inning closing the lead to 4-3.
Tofpi sealed the Lion win with a bunt single scoringYazmin Vargas who had singled, stole second base and advanced to third off aMakaila Leonhart single in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Amos finished 2-of-3 with two RBIs, Tofpi went 3-of-4 with an RBI and Leonhart went 2-of-4 with two steals. In the circleBailey Lacy picked up her sixth win of the season pitching 3.2 inning in relief striking out three Hillcats.
Game two began with the Hillcats getting three runs in the first two innings before being held scoreless until the sixth inning, scoring once in the sixth and adding three in the seventh.
Southern got on the board in the seventh off an Amos RBI double scoring Young who singled to begin the inning from first.
Amos and Young went 2-of-3 and Young stole a base. Lacy pitched in relief again pitching 5.1 innings striking out four in the 7-1 loss.
Up next for the Lions is the final road double-headers of the regular season. First traveling to Warrensburg to take on the Jennies of Central Missouri Friday April 16thand then Jefferson City Saturday April 17th. First pitch Friday is set for 3 p.m, and on Saturday at 12 p.m.
The No. 11-ranked Missouri Southern baseball team completed the series sweep and set a few records along the way as the Lions took both ends of a double-header with visiting Newman, winning game one 5-2 and then the nightcap 29-11.
The Lions (21-6, 15-6 MIAA) set new school records for home runs in a game (8) and total bases in a game (53) en route to the game two win. The Lions broke the previous home run record set in 2017 against Missouri Western (7) and the previous total base record set in 1992 against Missouri-St. Louis (52).
Game one saw a brilliant outing fromCorey Cowan as he started his first game of the year and went six innings to pick up the win and move to 1-0 on the season. He struck out eight batters and allowed just two runs on four hits.Scott Duensing went an inning, whileLogan VanWey got the save with two innings, striking out five in the process.
Kusiak started things off with a two-RBI single in the first and the Jets (5-15, 4-14 MIAA) countered with a run in the third to cut the lead in half. The Lions answered back with three runs in the fourth to put the game away. Milas, Willis and Fitzpatrick had back-to-back-to-back RBI doubles in the inning.
Game two saw the Lions explode for 21 runs over the fifth and sixth innings to put the game away.
The game was tied at eight heading to the bottom of the fifth before the run explosion began. Kusiak had a three-run home run in the first to start the scoring, but Newman answered back with a two-run homer in the second.
The Lions then got a home run fromRyan Hunter in the second, followed by RBI singles from Gagan and Kusiak to go up 6-2 after two.
Newman got three runs in the fourth to get within a run before the Lions scored two runs in the fourth to lead 8-5 after four.
The Jets tied the score in the top of the fifth, but that’s when the Lions went to work. Southern scored five runs in the fifth highlighted by back-to-back-to-back home runs from Fitzpatrick, Gagan and Stevenson. The Lions batted around twice in the sixth en route to scoring 16 runs in the inning. Gagan had a bases-clearing triple and scored on a wild pitch before Kusiak and Kinder had back-to-back homers to put the score at 20-8. Stevenson added another homer in the inning, as well.
Will Bausinger started and went three innings before exiting.Cole Woods threw two innings in relief andRyan Paschal andChase Beiter threw an inning each. Paschal picked up the win to move to 1-0 on the season.
Kusiak went 5-for-5 with two home runs, six RBIs and five runs scored. Stevenson was 4-for-5 with two homers, five runs scored and three RBIs. Both Stevenson and Kusiak tied an MSSU record with five runs scored in the game. Fitzpatrick and Gagan drove in five each, while Fitzpatrick and Gagan had four and three runs scored each.Kaleb Baker had three runs himself.
The Lions will be back in action on Tuesday afternoon when Southern ventures out of conference action to play host to Drury. First pitch from Warren Turner Field is slated for 3 p.m.
Inclement weather moved a road doubleheader to Joe Becker Stadium, where Joplin was on the wrong end of a pair of games with Willard and Springfield Catholic on Saturday.
The Eagles (9-4) opened the day against the Tigers and fell into an early hole when Willard crossed home six times in the second inning. Joplin broke through with a run in the fifth and trimmed the lead to one with a four-run sixth. The Eagles loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh but were unable to bring home the tying run in a 6-5 loss.
Springfield Catholic scored one in the second to take the lead before pushing home three runs in the fifth four a 4-0 cushion. Joplin crossed the plate once in the sixth but couldn’t come up with another run before the final out was made.
“We knew coming into it that we were playing two really good baseball teams,” Joplin coach Kyle Wolf said. “We knew we had to do things well to give ourselves an opportunity to win. We did a good job in the first game of fighting back to really be one swing away from having a chance to win that game. In the second game, it was just a couple little mistakes in the midst of that game to give them an opportunity. They are a very disciplined and fundamental baseball team who took advantage of them.”
WILLARD 6, JOPLIN 5
Willard took control of the first game of the day after Kade Biellier connected for a two-out grand slam to cap a six-run second inning.
Joplin’s Fielding Campbell scored in the bottom of the fifth following a single from Bodee Carlson to trim the lead to 6-1.
Kirk Chandler cut Joplin’s lead to 6-2 in the sixth with a single up the middle to score Alex Curry. Two batters later, Ethan Guilford tripled down the line to left to play Chandler and Justin McReynolds to make the score 6-4. Carson Wampler followed with a sac fly to right to bring the deficit to one with one inning to play.
With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Curry reached on an infield single before David Fiscus and Chandler drew consecutive walks to load the bases. The rally ended there as Kyler Stokes and Guilford struck out swinging to end the game.
“I was proud of the effort to go put up some runs there late,” Wolf said. “Especially against those guys because they are a good baseball team and play with a lot of intensity. It would have been easy to lay down when it was 6-0 after the grand slam, but we didn’t.”
Evan Gaunt earned the win after allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits, a walk and two strikeouts in five innings.
Chandler took the loss after allowing six runs on three hits, a strikeout and two walks in two innings. Campbell pitched five scoreless relief innings, scattering two hits and striking out two.
Curry led Joplin at the plate with three hits and a run scored. Chandler had a hit, scored a run and drove in one. Campbell and McReynolds had a hit and scored a run. Guilford tripled and finished with a team-high two RBI.
SPRINGFIELD CATHOLIC 4, JOPLIN 1
Playing as the home team, Springfield Catholic took the initial lead when Collin Davis touched home on a double steal in the bottom of the second.
Jeremy Rader came up with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth, while Ben Smith doubled home a run two batters later to highlight the Fighting Irish’s three-run inning.
Joplin broke through on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth when Guilford grounded out to score Joe Jasper.
After a pair of strikeouts started the bottom of the seventh for Joplin, Kohl Cooper and Curry singled to bring the tying run to the plate. The game ended with a strikeout by Fiscus.
Cooper started and took the loss after allowing one run on one hit, four walks and two strikeouts in two innings. McReynolds pitched four innings in relief and allowed three runs on four hits and four strikeouts.
Davis earned the win after allowing one unearned run on four hits, two walks and five strikeouts in six innings.
Joplin had no problems putting traffic on the basepaths, as the Eagles had runners on base in each of the last six frames. JHS just couldn’t find a timely hit, stranding 10 total baserunners in the loss.
“I felt like we were going to break through any given time,” Wolf said. “Especially earlier in the game, I thought we hit some balls hard just right at people. We got runners on, we just couldn’t quite get the hit we needed.
“We just have to have a little bit better of a collective approach. I felt like at times that we had nine individuals up there at the plate. I think we need to do a better job of recognizing the game situation and having a little bit more of a team approach on offense.”
Campbell, Cooper, Curry, Fiscus, Chandler and Stokes all had hits in the loss. Guilford picked up the lone RBI, while Jasper scored the only run.
UP NEXT
Joplin is at Harrisonville for a 4:30 p.m. matchup on Tuesday.
TULSA, Okla. — Trey Lippe-Morrison kept his record unblemished on Saturday at Osage Casino’s Skyline Event Center, but the heavyweight knockout artist was not exactly pleased with the result.
Moments after earning a technical knockout against Jason Bergman on the undercard of Top Rank Boxing’s ESPN show, Lippe-Morrison (17-0, 17 KOs) voiced his displeasure with the outcome of what was his first fight in 20 months.
The bout was stopped in the third round after Bergman went down with an apparent ankle injury and could not continue.
“I’m not happy with the way that ended,” Lippe-Morrison said. “He knew I was about to finish him. It pisses me off he wasn’t man enough to stick in there and take it.”
Saturday’s event was limited to 500 spectators and was sold out. Lippe-Morrison’s bout was streamed live on ESPN Plus, while the main event and co-feature were televised live on ESPN.
The hard-hitting native of Vinita, Oklahoma, Lippe-Morrison was fighting in his home state of Oklahoma for the 14th time in his career. This was his second time competing on a Top Rank show, with the first coming in Oklahoma City back in June of 2018.
“It was awesome to be in Oklahoma and in front of the fans, but I just wish it could have ended in a fight,” Trey said. “That’s not the way a fight should end.”
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Lippe-Morrison has been a local fan favorite in Southwest Missouri and Northeast Oklahoma since he began his pro career back in 2014.
This fight was a long time coming for Lippe-Morrison. The last time he was scheduled to fight in this area, August of 2019 at a Showtime Boxing event in Broken Arrow, his opponent backed out and a replacement couldn’t be found in time.
“It felt good to get back in the ring after a long layoff,” Lippe-Morrison said. “It just felt good to dust off the rust as much as I could. There was a little rust. But I’ve been training the whole time. I’ve been busy the whole time.”
Both fighters stayed busy in the opening round, and Lippe-Morrison went down after absorbing a left hand to the head. Referee Gary Ritter called it a slip. The son of the late Tommy Morrison disagreed with that assessment.
“I’ll man up,” he said. “He knocked me down.”
Bergman taunted Lippe-Morrison on more than one occasion in the second round.
“The showboating fueled the fire, but I’m pissed he did the showboating and then quit,” Lippe-Morrison said. “I think all that showboating was because he was tired. He was wanting to draw me in for a big punch, but I wasn’t falling for it.”
Lippe-Morrison said he felt like he was getting stronger as the fight progressed, while also getting the sense that his opponent was tiring.
The fight came to an end at the 1:27 mark of the third round. Bobbing and weaving, Lippe-Morrison landed a combination, and shortly after Bergman misfired with a wild punch attempt, he went down with what appeared to be an ankle injury. The fight was waved off.
“He found an easy way out,” Lippe-Morrison said. “I don’t think anything was wrong with his ankle, I think he quit. I was about to finish him. He knew a big-ass knockout was coming and he didn’t want that to happen on TV. He took the easy way out. That’s just my opinion.”
A 6-foot-2, 256-pounder who has been fighting professionally since 2006, the 36-year-old Bergman (27-20-2) had a clear advantage in experience, as he entered the night with 48 pro fights and 196 rounds of action.
Lippe-Morrison, 31, who entered Saturday with 16 bouts and just 31 rounds, said Bergman’s southpaw style took time to adjust to.
“It was a big adjustment, I didn’t spar with one southpaw in months,” Lippe-Morrison said. “I didn’t know I was fighting a southpaw until a week before the fight.”
Lippe-Morrison, who fought at Joplin’s Memorial Hall in August of 2015, said he’s ready for regular fights.
“As quick as possible,” he said when asked how quickly he’d like to fight again. “My only day off is going to be tomorrow when I take my grandma to church. Then I’ll get back starting on Monday. I’d like to have another fight in the next two months. I’ll be ready for one that soon.”
That’s something promoter Tony Holden is looking forward to as well.
“It was good to see him back in the ring,” Holden said. “I expected him to be rusty, but he let the guy into the fight. His next fight is going to be big. I want to see major improvement.”
The son of the late former heavyweight champion Tommy “The Duke” Morrison said he’ll continue training with Craig Blacklock in Tulsa.
“Trey wants to please the fans and he wants to please Tony,” Blacklock said. “He has to understand that just being a good boxer will do that and not worry about the knockout. He wanted to knock him out. We’re going to go back and work on the basics.”
The event was promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank Boxing, in association with Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing and Tony Holden Productions.
MAIN EVENT
In the night’s highly-entertaining main event, Joe Smith Jr. earned a majority decision over Maxim Vlasov to capture the vacant WBO light heavyweight world title.
The back and forth fight was extremely close, evident by the scorecards–114-114, 115-113 and 115-112.
In the co-feature, up and coming heavyweight Efe Ajagba delivered a crowd-pleasing knockout against Brian Howard.
In another bout on the undercard, Tulsa-born heavyweight prospect Jeremiah Milton knocked out Jayvone Dafney at the 1:02 mark of the first round.
TULSA, OKLAHOMA – APRIL 10: Trey Lippe Morrison and Jason Bergman exchange punches during their fight at the Osage Casino on April 10, 2021 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images)
TULSA, OKLAHOMA – APRIL 10: Trey Lippe Morrison is victorious as he defeats Jason Bergman at the Osage Casino on April 10, 2021 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images)
