The Missouri Southern Lions baseball team (22-14, 10-6 MIAA) remained near the top of the conference standings after splitting a doubleheader at Southwest Baptist University on April 9.

In game one, sophomore Evan Bates picked up his second win of the season after pitching two innings in relief of junior starter Nathan Hughes in the Lions’ 10-4 win.

Bates gave up one run on two hits in his two frames of work. In five innings of work, Hughes gave up only two earned runs and struck out seven in his no-decision appearance.

Offensively Southern was led by senior Aaron Techlin, who went 2-4 with three RBIs, and junior Zack Bronson, who went 3-5 with two runs and one RBI.

Game two ended in a 3-1 loss for the Lions.

Junior Kyle Rogers took the loss after giving up two runs in 4.2 innings pitched. Sophomore Josh Tupper also gave up one run in 1.1 innings of relief.

Junior J.D. Hergenrother led Southern’s offense by going 2-3 and scoring the only run. Junior Mark Catanzaro pitched in with two hits of his own in the losing effort.

On April 5, the Lions played two against Northwest Missouri State University. The scheduled away games were played at home because of bad weather in Maryville.

In the first game of the day, the Lions walked away with a hard-earned 4-3 victory in 13 innings.

Down 3-1 in the top of the eighth, the Lions tied the score on home runs by junior outfielder Nathan Hughes and senior third baseman Mark Keister. The score remained tied at three until the top of the 13th inning when senior catcher Sean Ritchie led off with a double. Ritchie advanced to third on an infield single by junior second baseman Justin McMullen. Junior outfielder Zack Bronson then drove in the winning run on a groundout.

Senior Nick Davis started the game and gave up three runs, two earned, over the first seven innings. Junior Jake Lawver pitched four scoreless innings in relief, and Bates pitched the last two innings to pick up his first win of the season.

The Lions were led offensively by senior Mark Keister and Hughes. Both had three hits, one RBI and one run scored.

“Game one turned out to be a pitchers’ duel, but the reason it was a close game wasn’t because of a lack of offense,” Johnson said. “We hit the ball well, it just seemed to be right at the defense. But things finally went our way at the end of the game.

“It was a team effort to stick it out like that and get the tough win.”

Game two was pitched by senior Nick Johnson.

Although Johnson gave up five earned runs, he kept the Lions close in his six innings of work but ultimately lost 5-4. The loss brought Johnson’s record to 4-4 on the season.

The Lions were led offensively by Keister, who went 2-4 and junior Dane Carver, who went 1-2. Junior Kevin Schiller and senior Aaron Techlin added one RBI each.

Keister has turned up his offensive output in the last couple of weeks. He is now among the team leaders in most offensive categories.

As of April 5, Keister was batting .340 with six home runs and 30 RBIs. He has also scored 25 runs with 63 total bases and a .630 slugging percentage.

“I didn’t really start hitting until a few weeks ago, but now I’m seeing the ball well,” Keister said of his recent offensive output. “I’ve always been a little bit of a slow starter, but the other guys were hitting early and now we’re all doing well.”

Southern is in third place in the MIAA behind Central Missouri State University and NWMSU. Head coach Warren Turner said the Lions are poised to stay in the top four and make a run to the conference tournament.

“We need to work on our mental execution and some of the guys have to try not to more than they are capable of,” Turner said.

“If we can do those things everything else will take care of itself.”

Nick Davis said one key to the team’s success will continue to be the pitching staff.

“One through five and our bullpen is really tough. Our staff can go the deepest in the conference, and we’ve got a lot of young guys that can step it up at any time,” Davis said.

The Lions will be in action again on April 12.

That doubleheader will begin an eight-game home stand in which they will have a rematch against conference rival CMSU.