The Lindenwood baseball team used a five-run fourth inning to help upset No. 20 Central Missouri in a 9-7 win on Wednesday afternoon at the Lou Brock Sports Complex in St. Charles, Mo.
 
Nick Paulda drove in two runs on two hits in the game while Ryan Sosnowski registered two RBI and a run scored.  Kyle Hentis earned the win after tossing four innings and registered three strikeouts while allowing just one run on two hits.
 
Central Missouri jumped on the board first with a run in the top of the second inning.  Paul Sherwood tied the game at 1-1 with a sacrifice fly to right field.  The Mules scored two more runs in the top of the third, but the Lions stayed focused and had a big third inning.  Tyler Muehling and Drew Quinones hit back-to-back doubles to make it a 3-2 ballgame, and Sosnowski drove in Quinones to tie the game again at 3-3.
 
Sam Baxter ended the scoring with a sacrifice fly to left field and the Lions held a 4-3 advantage after the first three innings of play.  Lindenwood poured on the runs in the fourth inning as a Sosnowski was hit by a pitch with bases loaded to start the scoring.  Conor Behrens hit a single through the right side of the infield to drive in Muehling.  Kyle Teter drove in Quinones on a sacrifice fly and Paulda drove in two runs on a single through the left side to give Lindenwood a 9-3 lead.
 
The Mules continued to fight as the game began to look similar to the extra-inning loss in Warrensburg, Mo. last week.  Central Missouri scored one run in the seventh and two more in the eighth to put itself within striking distance in the final inning.  The Mules generated one run in the top of the ninth and left two runners stranded as Connor Law struck out the final two batters to give the Lions a 9-7 win.
 
Lindenwood improves to 16-13 on the season and 9-8 in the MIAA while the Mules fall to 20-8 on the year and 12-5 in league play.  The Lions will host Missouri Western on Friday at 6 p.m. to start a three-game series at the Lou Brock Sports Complex in St. Charles, Mo.