The Lindenwood baseball team defeated Central Missouri 13-4 on Saturday at the Lou Brock Sports Complex to clinch a spot in the MIAA Tournament next weekend.
The Lions allowed one run in the first and another in the third to fall behind 2-0 heading into the bottom of the third inning.
Wes Degener led off the third inning with a walk and
Nathan Prindle hit a game-tying homerun just inside the leftfield foul pole.
Wade Rothermich stretched out a double to right field and moved to third on a
Drew Quinones single. Rothermich scored on a fielder's choice to give the Lions a 3-2 lead.
Central Missouri regained the lead in the top of the fifth with two runs. After two scoreless innings the Lions came out with a big seventh inning.
Zac Perkins drew a walk to start the rally and
Kyle Kruger came in to pinch run while the Mules made a pitching change. Kruger stole second to get into scoring position with Degener at bat. The Lions tied the game with a Degener double to left field that drove in Kruger. Degener moved to third on a groundout and scored on a Rothermich single. A big hit by Quinones to left field drove in Rothermich from first to put Lindenwood up 6-4.
After Quinones doubled and moved to third on the throw, he scored on a wild pitch to add to the Lions lead.
Mike Wilson singled with no runners on a
Michael Bibbs followed with a walk. The Lions added two more runs on a double to left field by
Branden Sugar to score Wilson and Bibbs. Lindenwood held a 9-4 lead after seven innings of play.
Rothermich canned a Mule runner at the plate in the top of the eighth to help maintain the Lions five-run lead. Lindenwood added a few insurance runs in the eighth including a two-run homerun by Quinones over the left field wall. Wilson and Bibbs hit back-to-back RBI doubles to give Lindenwood a 13-4 lead.
Brendan Kleekamp threw six strong innings for the Lions allowing four runs, two earned, four hits and four strikeouts.
Connor Law finished the final three innings allowing just three hits and struck out the final batter of the game to seal the 13-4 Lindenwood victory.
Head Coach
Doug Bletcher expressed his appreciation for his players, "These players learned how to compete and play hard this year and because they play the game the right way they will leave their legacy with this program." Bletcher also noted the tenacity of this group, "When you are trying to build a program as a young group in the NCAA and the MIAA, you need to get to the playoffs," Bletcher continued, "the guys on this team are building this program and we are just starting to put Lindenwood baseball on the map." Bletcher finished, "I am exceptionally prideful."
The Lions improve to 25-23 on the year and are now 15-16 in the MIAA. Lindenwood will close out the regular season with a single game Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. at the Lou Brock Sports Complex in St. Charles, Mo.
