Drury slips by MSSU baseball 4-3

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

Ozark, Mo. - The No. 25 Missouri Southern baseball team scored three unanswered runs, but the Lions dropped a non-conference road game at Drury today, 4-3 inside USA Baseball Park.

Southern (16-5) got a pair of hits from Tommy Stevenson and Henry Kusiak as Kusiak drive in a run. Clay Milas scored twice, while Marco Navarro, Jordan Fitzpatrick, Milas and Dexter Swims all had a hit each. Swims drove in a run.

Cole Woods started and went three innings, allowing four runs. The Lions' bullpen was perfect as Corey Cowan threw four innings with five strikeouts and Logan VanWey struck out all three batters he faced in the eighth.








Drury (13-7) got on the board first with four runs in the third, but the Southern pen was outstanding in relief, shutting down the Panthers for the remainder of the game.

Southern answered back with a pair of runs in the seventh to cut the lead in half. Swims drove in Milas to start the inning, while Fitzpatrick scored on a passed ball.

The Lions threatened in the ninth, scoring a run on a Kusiak RBI, but Southern couldn't complete the comeback.

The Lions will be back in action this weekend with a three-game set with Missouri Western on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

MSSU baseball to face Drury

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

The 25th ranked Missouri Southern baseball program will head east as the Lions will take on Drury tomorrow afternoon in Ozark at USA Baseball Park. First pitch is slated for 4 pm.

About the Lions

Southern (16-4) is coming off a three-game sweep of Washburn this weekend that saw the Lions out score the Ichabods 27-15. The Lions got wins from Zac Shoemaker and Will Bausinger, while Logan VanWey picked up saves number five and six.

Clay Milas had a stellar weekend as he hit .538 with five RBIs, four runs scored, seven hits, two doubles, a triple and a homer, while slugging 1.077. 

Zach Parish also became the MIAA all-time strikeout king on Friday night when he added seven to his total of 352 in his career. Troy Gagan had a pair of homers in the finale on Sunday, one of which was an inside-the-park.

Gagan leads the Lions this season in average (.338), runs (24) and is tied for the team-high in home runs with five. Jordan Fitzpatrick has five homers of his own and leads the team with 24 RBIs. Tommy Stevenson is second on the team in RBIs with 17, while ranking second in doubles with six, tied with Gagan. Brad Willis leads the Lions with eight doubles on the season.

Parish is 4-0 on the season with a 2.65 ERA, leads the league with 57 strikeouts and has an opponents average of .157. Shoemaker is 4-1 with 48 strikeouts, while Bausinger is 3-1 with 53 K's. Shoemaker and Bausinger rank in the top seven in the MIAA in strikeouts. VanWey leads the MIAA and is the top five nationally with six saves.

As a team, the Lions are hitting .288 with 30 home runs and 137 RBIs to go with 43 stolen bases in 53 attempts. The pitching staff has a 4.16 ERA and has struck out 218 batters to only 75 walks.

About Drury

The Panthers are 12-7 on the season after taking two-of-three from Missouri-St. Louis this past weekend. Drury is led offensively by Brant Schaffitzel who has a .362 average, while Riley Herron and Clayton Engle are tied for the team lead with two home runs each. Engle leads the team with 18 RBIs, while Aaron Mann and Jackson Dierenfeldt has the team lead with five doubles.

Hunter Becker leads the team with a 3-1 record, while Mason Meeks has a team-low 1.99 ERA. Bayler Hinz has four saves.

As a team, the Panthers hit .302 and have a team ERA of 4.25. Drury has hit just five home runs as a team, compared to the Lions' 30.

Live Coverage

The game will be broadcasted live via Fox Sports Joplin with Kevin Welch and Bobby Landis bringing you the call. Live stats and live video will also be provided by Drury. Links for all are available in the story links above.

Up Next

Southern will play host to Missouri Western this weekend in a three-game set beginning on Friday at Warren Turner Field.

MSSU men's track and field coaches named MIAA Coaching Staff of the Year

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

The Missouri Southern Men's Track and Field coaching staff has been named the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Men's Coaching Staff of the Year as announced by the conference office earlier today.

The staff is composed of Director of Cross Country/Track and Field Bryan Schiding, Assistant Coach Brian Allen, who coaches throwing events, Assistant Coach Jaime Burnham, who coaches distance, and Assistant Coach Jason Francis, who coaches sprints, hurdles and combined events. Schiding and Francis earned 2020 USATFCCCA Region Coach of the Year Awards last week.

The staff helped guide the Lions to their third MIAA championship where they finished with five individual champions and scored 142 points. The Lions, who are ranked No. 8, were ranked at No. 6 earlier this year, the highest Southern has ever been ranked for the indoor portion of the schedule. The Lions, who were fifth at last year's Championships, were picked to finish fifth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll.

The Lion men had 11 All-Region Awards, had 19 NCAA provisional qualifying marks and have qualified nine individuals in six events to the NCAA Division II National Championships that are scheduled for this weekend at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama.