MSSU baseball knocks off No. 30 Drury

Derek Shore, The Joplin Globe, Mo.
·4 min read

Apr. 28—In the midst of a four-game tailspin, Missouri Southern's baseball team needed something to go its way before postseason play arrives next week.

Wednesday night was a good start.

MSSU snapped the skid in the best way possible by knocking off No. 30 Drury 8-6 in a non-conference tilt at U.S. Ballpark in Ozark.

The Lions improved to 26-20 overall on the season. This game was originally scheduled to be played on March 23, but was pushed back due to weather.

"Obviously, it was a really big win," MSSU head coach Bryce Darnell said. "Drury is a good program. We got some timely hits. Matt Miller had a big bop. The pitching was outstanding. (Cole) Gayman gave us a good start. Scotty (Scott Duensing) was really good in relief. Our relief pitchers did well."

Trailing 5-2 heading to the top of the sixth, the Lions offensive onslaught began when Lamar product Case Tucker singled to left field to bring home Drew Davis and cut the deficit to two as the team chased Drury starter Zach McKinnis out of the ballgame.

Nate Mieszkowski welcomed new Panther reliever Tom Tewes with an RBI single to trim the hole to one. Aurora product and MSSU power hitter Matt Miller then launched a three-run bomb to cap a five-run sixth and propel the Lions to a two-run lead.

"Matt got a fastball and he turned on it," Darnell said. "Not an easy place to hit home runs with the way the park sits and the way the wind blows. But he really got into it. That was kind of a big blow for us."

Drury got one back when Max Elmer collected an RBI single in the bottom half of the sixth to cut the margin to 7-6.

But the Lions bullpen proved to be nails after that point. Webb City product Cale McCallister got Jackson Dierenfeldt to ground out and finished off the frame by punching out Brock Schaffitzel.

MSSU regained a two-run lead in the seventh when Chayton Beck collected an RBI double to left center, bringing home Treghan Parker. Scott Duensing registered four strikeouts over a scoreless seventh and eighth in relief, while Laif Hultine slammed the door with a zero in the ninth.

In total, the Lions' bullpen allowed only one run on five hits through the final 4 1/3 innings of work.

"Cale was just good enough," Darnell said. "Scotty was really good. He got some big strikeouts. Laif came in and got a double-play and a strikeout. We were mostly filling it up and working ahead was the main thing."

MSSU got on the board first after an RBI double from Henry Kusiak in the top of the first. Drury took a 2-1 advantage when Nikko Calabro and DJ McNew came up with back-to-back RBI triples in the bottom half.

The Lions knotted the game at 2-2 following a sacrifice fly from Beck in the second. His sac fly was set up with a leadoff single from Jordan Fitzpatrick and then a double from Davis.

Drury took its three-run lead with a run in the fourth to break the scoreless tie and two tallies in the fifth.

MSSU amassed nine hits in the contest. Miller and Beck accumulated two hits apiece, while Mieszkowski, Kusiak, Fitzpatrick, Davis and Tucker all had knocks for the Lion offense.

Cole Gayman, another former Webb City standout, worked 4 2/3 innings and surrendered five runs (four earned) on six hits. The righty walked three and picked up two strikeouts.

The Panthers slip to 29-13 on the season.

MSSU, which sits in a tie with Rogers State for sixth in the MIAA standings, returns to league play as it hosts Missouri Western for a three-game set this weekend at Warren Turner Field.

First pitch is set for 6 p.m. Friday. Game two is slated for 1 p.m. Saturday, followed by the regular-season finale at 1 on Sunday.

"We haven't played well lately," Darnell said. "But we still feel like we have a good team. It's good to get a win against a quality opponent. Things just haven't gone our way, but maybe a win like this can help us out."