HAYS, Kan. – The Missouri Southern baseball team finished up the sweep as the Lions won both ends of a double-header against Fort Hays State, taking game one 16-6 and game two 18-17.
Southern (18-3, 12-3 MIAA) saw a lot of offense in the two games today, scoring 16 runs in the opener and 18 in the nightcap.
Will Bausinger got the in game one as he went five innings, striking out eight and allowing just two runs to move to 5-1 on the season. Corey Cowan, Scott Duensing, Jeremiah Kennedy and Blake McPhee threw an inning each in relief.
The Lions had six home runs in the opener as Jordan Fitzpatrick hit a pair. Henry Kusiak, Brad Willis, Matt Miller and Joe Kinder had a home run each. Troy Gagan had a pair of doubles, while Willis and Kinder had a double each. Kinder drove in five runs in the game as Miller, Gagan and Fitzpatrick scored three runs each.
Southern scored wo runs in the first and five in the fourth to lead 7-0 after four. The Tigers (2-17, 2-13 MIAA) got a pair of runs in the fifth, but the Lions scored four runs in the seventh, a single run in the eighth and four more in the ninth. FHSU had four runs over the final three innings, but could not make a dent in the Southern lead.
Game two was a test to see who would score last. Both teams had five home runs each in the game as Kinder hit two more. Gagan, Tommy Stevenson and Miller had a home run each.
Stevenson had a pair of doubles as he set a new MSSU record and tied the MIAA mark with six hits in the game, going 6-for-7 with three runs scored and six RBIs. Kinder had four hits, four runs scored and three RBIs, while Gagan went 5-for-6 with four runs scored and two driven in. Dexter Swims, Clay Milas and Miller had two RBIs each.
Both teams scored early and often as the game was 12-11, Lions after three innings. The Lions scored a run in the fourth to go up 13-11, but Hays answered with four runs in the fifth to go up 15-13.
Southern tied the score with a pair of runs in the sixth, but the Tigers scored two of their own to go up 17-15 after six. The Lions capped the scoring with three runs in the seventh on a home run from Kinder, and RBI single from Stevenson and then Stevenson scored on a wild pitch what proved to be the game-winner.
Chase Beiter started and went went two innings, while Cole Woods, Cowan, Cale McAlister, Ryan Paschal, threw in relief before Duensing settled in for the win. Duensing went three innings and struck out three to move to 2-0 on the year. Logan VanWey came in to close out the game for his first work of the year, striking out a batter and throwing just nine pitches in the ninth.
The Lions will be back at it next weekend as Southern plays host to fifth-ranked Central Missouri. The top-ten matchup will consist of a single game on Friday and a double-header on Saturday.
