The Missouri Southern baseball team will open up MIAA play this weekend as the Lions will travel to Edmond, Okla. to take on No. 34 Central Oklahoma in a three game set on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The Lions will open up at 5 pm on Friday and will play at 3 pm on Saturday and 1 pm on Sunday.
Southern comes into the series with a record of 7-3, including a four-game sweep of the MIAA/GLVC Challenge last week at Warren Turner field. The Lions are hitting .299 as a team and come in with a 4.24 ERA. Junior righty Will Bausinger was named the MIAA and National Pitcher of the Week this week after the St. Louis native threw the first perfect game in the history of the MIAA and MSSU and the 25th overall in Division II history. Bausinger is 2-1 on the season with a 0.59 ERA and has 24 strikeouts to just two walks, which ranks 9th nationally. Opponents are hitting just .137 against Bausinger.
Zach Parish and Zac Shoemaker are both 1-0 on the season and should be the Lions' Friday and Saturday starters on the mound. Sunday's starter is still TBA. Parrish has 18 strikeouts on the season, while Shoemaker has 16.
Offensively, Freddie Landers leads the way for the Lions who have four batters at .300 or higher and two more at .296 or higher. Landers is hitting .433 with two home runs and seven RBIs, while Davin Gummere is hitting .353 from the lead-off spot with a pair of long balls and seven RBIs of his own. Gummere has a team-high 13 walks and an on-base percentage of .531, while going 4-4 on the basepaths. Alex Phillips leads the team with 12 RBIs and is tied with Denver Coffee for the team lead with four doubles.
UCO is 6-2 on the season and has won the last five in a row. The Bronchos are averaging 6.25 runs per game and have a .275 batting average. The Bronchos are ranked 34th in the Baseball Coaches Preseason National Poll.
