KIRKSVILLE -- The Bulldog baseball team was within whiskers of taking both ends of Saturday’s conference doubleheader however the Missouri Southern Lions prevailed with a pair of 6-4 wins in extra innings each game to take a 2-1 lead in the four-game set. The series is scheduled to conclude on Sunday with a single nine-inning game at noon.
Will Nader used his speed to knot game one at two apiece as he stole second as a pinch runner and advanced to third on a wild throw by the Lions’ catcher. Nader tied the game at two on a sac fly by Pete Jurich.
However, Southern grabbed the momentum right back as an RBI double put the Lions back on top.
Kody Stricklin singled and stole second in the last of the seventh and was able to send the game into extra innings scoring on a sac fly by Steven Rose.
Tim Lee replaced Jarrett Eiskina on the hill and retired the Lions in order.
In the bottom of the eighth, Devon Myers led off with a hit and after a sac bunt, moved to third on a single by Scott Doggett. Jurich then hit a hard grounded that second basemen Fernando Lugo bobbled but was able to flip to short and the throw to first just beat Jurich down the line for the inning ending double-play.
That defensive play was the difference maker as the Lions pushed two across the plate with Cullen Baxter collected the game winning RBI in the ninth off.
Logan Siegler took the loss in relief while Austin Brown was the winner for Southern.
Southern took a 1-0 lead in game two but Luke Crader tied the game in the second with an RBI single to score Kenny Swanson.
The Lions would go back on top in the fourth as Dallas Burke doubled and later scored on a wild pitch.
In the fifth, Rose reached on a error and Dan Plecki hit a two-out two-run home run to left to give Truman a 3-2 lead.
Tyler Stefan got the first out in the seventh then hit Kevin Burgi. The next batter Stefan faced flied out to right for the second out of the inning.
Stefan’s curveball just missed to Patrick Deao, which would have ended it, but Deao then took the next delievery back up the middle for a hit. Lugo followed with an RBI single up the middle and Ben Millard gave Southern the lead with an RBI single.
The resilient Bulldogs fought back in the bottom of the seventh as Michael Reese reach via walk then came in to score on a heads-up play after an errant throw to first after Myers had already beat out a single.
In the eighth with two outs, Stefan hit another batter then gave up a crucial two-run double by Shayne Hoke which proved to be the game winner.
Truman belted out 19 hits in the two games with Reese collecting a team-leading four with Plecki and Myers each with three.
(Courtesy Truman State Athletics Department)
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