The Lindenwood baseball team forced a deciding third game in its first round MIAA Tournament series with Emporia State on Friday afternoon. The Lions won game two of the series by a 7-3 margin.
 
The duo of Austin Klein and Brendan Kleekamp slowed down one of the top offenses in the MIAA. Klein earned the win after he went five innings and allowed six hits and two runs. Kleekamp pitched the final four innings for the save. He allowed just one hit and an unearned run.
 
Lindenwood gave its pitchers some run support with two runs in both the second and third inning. Ryan Light led off the second with a solo home run. Later in the inning, Brandon Sugar scored on a wild pitch. In the third, Sugar benefited again from a bad pitch. This time, he was hit with the bases loaded which scored one run. Zac Perkins followed with a single to put the Lions up 4-0.
 
Emporia State cut the lead to 4-3 after the sixth inning, before the Lions scored three insurance runs. Lindenwood used the long ball for two of those runs with homers by Drew Quinones and Wes Degener. Quinones also had a RBI single in that stretch.
 
That was enough for Kleekamp who was nearly perfect the final three innings, as he allowed just one walk in that stretch.
 
Lindenwood and Emporia State will decide their series on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Emporia, Kan. The winner advances to the final site for the MIAA Tournament which is on May 7-9 in Kansas City, Kan.