The Lindenwood baseball team fell 5-2 to No. 10 Missouri Southern in Joplin, Mo. on Saturday.
 
Saturday began in the same fashion as Friday, but the game continued to be a pitchers dual through the fifth inning.  Geoff Hartlieb tossed three scoreless innings before allowing a run to Missouri Southern in the fourth.  Hartlieb remained composed as he allowed just one run on three hits, with six strikeouts through five innings.  Lindenwood struggled to produce any offense against two-time all-MIAA performer Peyton Walker as he allowed just two hits through five innings of play.
 
Lindenwood stayed determined, and it paid off in the top of the sixth.  Nathan Prindle reached base on a walk, moved to second on a balk, and moved to third base on a groundout.  With two outs, Mike Ehrhard drew a walk, and Sam Baxter came through with a single to left field to tie the game at 1-1.  The Lions could not add any more runs, but found some offensive life, after the sixth inning. 
 
Missouri Southern killed the momentum Lindenwood had, as a leadoff home run in the bottom of the sixth put Missouri Southern back in front, 2-1, and it was the beginning of a big inning for the Lions.  Missouri Southern added another home run and an RBI single to take a 4-1 lead, but Brendan Kleekamp stopped the bleeding and gave the Lindenwood a chance with three innings remaining.
 
Both teams were scoreless in the seventh inning, but Prindle brought the Lions within two runs after his solo shot to center.  Missouri Southern hit its third home run of the day to take a 5-2 lead after seven innings of play.  Lindenwood could not find any more run support, as it fell 5-2 to on Saturday afternoon.
 
The loss sets Lindenwood back to 6-3 on the season and 1-1 in the MIAA.  The Lions will close out their three-game series against Missouri Southern on Sunday for a 1 p.m. start in Joplin, Mo.