MSSU baseball falls to No. 1 Pitt State
· Yahoo Sports
PITTSBURG, Kan. — In a game that featured seven home runs, it was the top-ranked team in the country — the Pittsburg State University Gorillas — that prevailed with a 12-6 win over the Missouri Southern State University Wednesday at PSU.
Visit tr-sport.click for more information.
Southern (16-11, 11-6) got the home run derby started with a solo swat over the left field fence by Brayden Luikart in the top of the first.
The Gorillas (26-3, 15-3) answered in the bottom of the frame with a Grant Nottleman home run to center that plated Dagen Brewer and gave PSU a 2-1 lead.
The Lions regained the lead at 3-2 in the top of the third, courtesy of an Aiden Hinkle two-run bomb over the left field fence that plated Will Potter.
The Gorillas reclaimed the lead at 5-3, courtesy of a Brewer three-run homer to left field in the bottom of the third that brought Eric Bacon and Jadyn McNealy home.
It appeared the Lions might tie the game at 5-5 in the top of the fourth inning, when Jason Lazo hit a long one to center, but Bacon leaped to the top of the wall and stole the would-be two-run homer from Lazo.
Bacon then cleared the bases with a fourth-inning grand slam that scored McNealy, Jaron Cotton and Cooper Wesslund. Brewer followed that up with his second bomb of the game — a solo shot to center field — to give PSU a 10-3 lead.
Hinkle logged the first score not related to a home run when he crossed the plate on a Blake Jones' double to left field in the top of the fifth and pulled the Lions a little closer at 10-4.
The Lions plated a pair of runs in the top of the seventh to make it a 10-6 game. Luikart smacked his second homer of the day and Jacob Filip drove in Blake Jones with a single to center field.
In the bottom of the frame, Southern opted for an intentional bases-loaded walk of Brewer, who had already hit two homers, and the Gorillas went up 11-6.
The Gorillas final run of the game came in the bottom of the eighth when Landin Midgett scored on an Andrew Branson single to third as PSU held on for the 12-6 win.
“We competed hard,” MSSU head coach Bryce Darnell said. “They are obviously a good club and will take advantage of any mistakes. Our guys didn’t quit and played hard. I felt like the game was closer than 12-6, honestly.”
Luikart led the Lion attack, going 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs. Jones finished 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI, Filip was 2-for-4 with an RBI and Hinkle was 1-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs.
Brewer finished with five RBIs for PSU, going 3-for-4 with three runs. Bacon added four RBIs after going 2-for-5 with two runs. Nottleman was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run.
Southern’s Keaton Anderson (1-1) was tagged with the loss after giving up five runs on five hits in 2 1/3 innings. Anderson struck out two and walked one. The Lions used six pitchers in the game, including freshman Jackson Gamble, who gave up no runs and two hits while fanning three and walking none in two innings of relief.
“He has pitched a lot and did well for us today,” Darnell said of Gamble. “He’s been a guy we have relied on and he didn’t disappoint today.”
The Gorillas also sent six pitchers to the bump, with Cason Long (3-0) earning the win.
The loss snapped an MSSU seven-game win streak. The Lions will look to get back on the winning track when they face the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith (4-22, 3-14) for a three-game series beginning at 1 p.m. Friday.
“I told our guys to not let this one carry over into Friday,” Darnell said. “We’ll just keep competing and playing hard. I feel like if we do that, we’ll have a lot of wins in front of us.”