As the weather warms in southwest Missouri, Bryce Darnell hopes his team’s bats follow suit.

Stuck at 12-12 after spring break, the Missouri Southern baseball Head Coach says offensive consistency has plagued the Lions in recent weeks.

Southern has not won a series since taking three of four games against Northwest Missouri State University from March 11-13.

The Lions have since split with Pittsburg State and Truman State on the road, while being beaten three games to one by now No. 4 Central Missouri.

“I thought this weekend we competed hard for the most part,” Darnell said. We obviously aren’t happy losing three of four, we had every chance to split the series for sure.

“I think we’re getting better, I think we’re finding where people fit. People are finding their roles. Our defense has definitely improved and that’s given us a chance, our pitching has remained constant, we just need to find a way to get a couple big hits in certain spots, but overall I feel good about our effort, I feel good about where we’re at.”

Wednesday, the Lions took on non-conference opponent Drury University in a single nine-inning game. The Lions’ ace Brett Abel was touched for the only run in the game in the third inning as Drury came away with a 1-0 victory to drop Southern to .500 on the season.

This weekend, Southern gets back into MIAA play, hosting the Washburn Ichabods for a four-game series.

“We have a fun weekend coming up,” Darnell said. “We’re having a big alumni reunion thing this weekend so it should be a good atmosphere, the weather should be good so we’re excited about what’s coming up.”

According to Darnell, Washburn’s offense has also gone cold recently, and he hopes his team, built around pitching and defense, will present even more of a challenge for the struggling Ichabods.