The last home games of the season for Missouri Southern came against conference-leader Central Missouri State University on April 22.

But the Lions were not quite able to rise to the occasion, losing both games which brought their record to 26-18 (14-10 MIAA).

Game one of the doubleheader turned out to be another tense affair for the Lions who are used to tight games this season. Junior Nathan Hughes pitched for the Lions and had a 1-0 lead given to him in the third inning when junior second baseman Jake Lawver pulled a home run down the left field line.

Hughes held the the Mules scoreless until the fifth inning when he allowed three earned runs after he experienced some control problems.

Sophomore Evan Bates relieved Hughes in the sixth and pitched two scoreless innings of relief, which allowed the Lions to stay within striking distance of the Mules.

With the score 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh, senior Mark Keister drove in two runs on a bases-loaded single with two outs to tie the game and send it to extra innings.

After committing an error in right field in the top of the eighth inning to allow the go-ahead run to score, junior Zack Bronson was able to redeem himself and keep the game going with a two-out single to left field, tying the game at four in the bottom of the inning.

But the tie was short lived.

The Mules scored two in the top of the ninth and held the Lions scoreless in the bottom half of the inning for the win.

Lions starting pitcher Nick Johnson had the opportunity to pitch the last home game of his career against the top team in the conference in the nightcap, and even though he came out on the losing end, he was not upset with the outcome.

“That is definitely one I’m going to remember,” Johnson said. “I was happy with my performance, but I didn’t get run support. That’s just the way it goes sometimes.”

Although the Lions took two losses against a team they really wanted to beat, they are not letting it get to them.

“If they get down on themselves because of those losses, they need to be doing something else,” Turner said. “There better not be anybody down, because there are a lot more games to play, and we have to be ready for them.”

On April 18, Southern split a doubleheader with Washburn, 9-1 and 8-6.

On April 19, the Lions won the third game of the series 8-6.

The Lions are now down to their last two conference series.

One series with Emporia State on Friday and Saturday and one with Truman State on May 3-4 is all that remains of Southern’s conference schedule.

The Lions are currently in third place and have their sights set on the conference tournament.

“We need to maintain our focus and keep playing solid ball,” Hughes said. “The conference is a lot tougher this year because a couple of teams have improved, so we’ve got to keep playing well and take at least two out of three in our last two conference series.”