The Missouri Southern baseball team will open up the 2019 NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament as the Lions will take on No. 12 Central Missouri at 3:30 pm tomorrow in Warrensburg.
Southern is one of four teams competing in the Division II Central Region II Tournament as Division II has mirrored the Division I format for regional play. The NCAA has broken up each region into two separate tournaments with the winners of those tournaments to play each other next week in a best-of-three Super Regional for the right to go to Cary, NC for the Division II World Series.
The Lions and Central will play at 3:30 pm, while St. Cloud State and Central Oklahoma will play the night cap at 7 pm.
About the Lions (35-19): In Bryce Darnell's 12th season at the helm of his alma mater, the Lions were picked to finish sixth in the MIAA preseason poll, but finished just one game out of first and Darnell was awarded with the MIAA Coach of the Year award. Darnell is 359-274 in 11 plus seasons as the head coach at MSSU.
The Lions were well-represented in the MIAA post season awards as Dexter Swims was the MIAA Freshman of the Year and Zach Parish was the MIAA Pitcher of the Year. Parish leads the MIAA in strikeouts with 134 and wins with nine. He ranks second in hits allowed, WHIP, games started and ERA. Parish and Swims were both first-team All-MIAA selections, as well as third basemen Freddie Landers. Landers leads the Lions with a .349 batting average and is tied for the team-lead with 11 home runs. He leads the MIAA in hit by pitch, while ranking second in slugging and on-base percentage and fourth in home runs and total bases.
About the Mules (38-14): The Mules came-from-behind and defeated the Lions in an elimination game on Championship Sunday en route to the 2019 MIAA Tournament Championship this past weekend. Central is led offensively by MIAA Player of the Year Erik Webb as Webb leads the MIAA in doubles, home runs, RBIs, sacrifice flies, total bases and triples, while ranking second in batting average.
The Mules as a team are hitting .332 as a team, tops in the MIAA, while sporting a 4.11 team ERA.
Last time vs. UCM: The Lions and Mules have played five times this year with UCM holding a 3-2 record over the Lions. Southern last played UCM in the NCAA post season in 2013 when UCM eliminated the Lions 7-3 in Mankato, Minn.
Series history: The Lions and Mules have met quite extensively over the years with the Mules holding an 84-25 overall record against the Lions.
Next up: The winner of this game play the winner of the Central Oklahoma/St. Cloud State game at noon on Friday.
Follow the Regional: Complete links to the tournament home page, live stats, live audio and live video can be found above in the story links or on the baseball schedule page.
MSSU Watch Party: Can't make it to Warrensburg, but want to watch the games in style? The MSSU athletic department will be hosting a watch party in the North Endzone Facility on campus to help cheer on the Lions. Admission is free, but please RSVP via 417-625-9317.
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