The 25th-ranked Missouri Southern baseball team rallied in the seventh to go ahead, but the visiting Central Oklahoma Bronchos answered with a big rally of their own to defeat the Lions 11-7 today at Warren Turner Field.
Southern (30-13) is eliminated from the MIAA Tournament and Central Oklahoma (24-19) advances to next weekend’s final four of the MIAA Baseball Championships to play Rogers State. Central Missouri will open the tournament with Pittsburg State.
Central Oklahoma got on top with a run in the first, but Tommy Stevenson answered with an opposite-field home run to tie the game at one after one.
UCO added a run in the second and another in the third to go up 3-2.
Both teams were scoreless until Jordan Fitzpatrick hit a home run to right center in the sixth to get the Lions within one (3-2), but Southern’s big inning came in the seventh. After the Lions loaded the bases, Ryan Hunter unloaded them with a grand slam to put the Lions up 6-3. Fitzpatrick then added his second homer of the game to make the score 7-3.
The Bronchos, however, weren’t done and answered the Lions’ five run inning with a seven-run inning in the eighth and added a run in the ninth to put the game away.
The Lions got home runs from Stevenson and Hunter and two from Fitzpatrick in the game. Joe Kinder had a pair of doubles and Clay Milas and Dexter Swims scored a run each.
Jacob Davis started, while Cole Woods threw four and a third in relief, striking out four and allowing just one earned run. Logan VanWey threw an inning and two thirds and struck out a pair, while Ryan Paschal, Scott Duensing and Corey Cowan all threw in relief, as well.
The Lions will now wait until the NCAA Division II regional field is announced next Sunday, May 23 to see if they have made the field. Southern has been ranked in each of the first two regional rankings this year.
