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The Truman Baseball team will close out the 2012 season with a home and home series with Lindenwood University this weekend.

The teams will begin the series on Saturday in St. Charles, Mo. and will then travel to Kirksville for Sunday’s doubleheader.

This will be only the second time Truman and Lindenwood will meet on the diamond with the last coming in April of 1994 in which the Lions won 1-0 in Kirksville.

The two teams will get reacquainted this weekend and will play another four game series next year when the Lions fully make the transition from the NAIA to Division II and the MIAA.

The Bulldogs will be looking to bounce back after being swept on Saturday by Pittsburg State in a pair of conference games.

The Gorillas took the opener 4-1 and rallied in the ninth to win 9-8 in the nightcap. Games three and four of the series were called after a three-hour delay on Sunday due to persistent rain.

Prior to Sunday’s game, six seniors will be recognized for their achievements.

Pete Jurich, Tyler Stefan, Devon Myers, and Steven Rose are all four-year letterwinners while Dan Plecki and Weston Lewis have transferred in.

This group is three wins away from the four-year win record of 59 set by the 1999-2002 Bulldogs.

While Truman will say goodbye to their seniors on Sunday, the future is bright with freshman Jerod Hahn and sophomore Will Nader leading the team in hitting.

Hahn is hitting .341 this season with a pair of home runs and 16 runs batted in while Nader has been on a hot streak going 16-of-26 (.615) over the last 10 games.

Sophomore Tim Lee is one win away from becoming just the second Bulldog hurler to win five games in a single season over the past 10 years.

Ryan Trimble won five in 2010 while the Truman record for pitching wins in eight set by Jeff Birdsong in 1999.

Lee is 4-3 with a 4.58 ERA in five starts and 12 appearances.

Three other Bulldogs have three wins, Logan Siegler (3-6, 3.66 ERA), Tyler Stefan (3-6, 5.86 ERA) and Jarrett Eiskina (3-1, 2.31 ERA).

Lindenwood is 24-19 overall this season and will face McKendree University (Ill.) on Thursday.

They are 2-3 against MIAA teams this year splitting a four-game series with conference champion Central Missouri and most recently falling 5-3 at home on Tuesday night to Southwest Baptist University (Mo.).

Wade Rothermich leads the Lions with a .379 batting average in 43 games but as a team Lindenwood is hitting .281 with nine home runs.

Reliever Ryan Griffin has a 5-1 record with a 1.83 ERA and eight saves.

Courtesy Truman State University