The Lindenwood baseball team won the 2017 MIAA Postseason Tournament on Sunday in Joplin, Mo. The offense scored 26 times on the final day of play as the Lions defeated Missouri Southern by a 14-4 score in a semifinal contest, and knocked off Central Oklahoma by a 12-8 margin in the championship game.
 
The Lions trailed 6-1 early in the championship game, but rallied back for their first MIAA tournament crown. Lindenwood tied the game in three different innings after that, the final time by an 8-8 margin in the sixth inning.
 
Lindenwood's pitchers burned enough innings by that point that head coach Doug Bletcher was able to bring in closer Connor Law for an extended outing. Law did not allow a run for the final four innings, and retired 10 straight at one point.
 
The Lions took the lead for good in the top of the eighth inning with two unearned runs. A one-out single by Kyle Teter scored Tyler Muehling, and a sacrifice fly by Conor Behrens scored Ryan Sosnowski.
 
In the ninth, Lindenwood added two more runs, giving Law a four-run advantage. After getting two outs, he allowed just the second hit of his appearance. Law struck out the next batter, though, setting off a celebration for the Lions.
 
Drew Quinones led the offense with three hits, three RBI, and two runs. Sosnowski, Teter, Behrens, and Paul Sherwood all had two runs in the game. Behrens also drove in three runners. Quinones and Behrens both hit home runs in the contest.
 
Law picked up his fourth win of the season after going four innings and allowing just two base runners. He struck four batters. Marshall Shill had a crucial 3 1/3 innings in relief, allowing two runs and six hits.
 
Lindenwood advanced to the finals with a 10-run win over the host school, Missouri Southern. The Lions trailed twice in the game, but broke it open with 11 runs in sixth and seventh innings. Five of those runs came in the sixth when Lindenwood took the lead for good. The Lions opened the inning with four straight hits, including a single by Behrens that put the team ahead for good. Rayce Singbush had a big hit as well with a two-run double.
 
Blake Beckmann earned the win after going four innings and allowing three runs and six hits. Brendan Feldmann pitched the final three innings for the save, allowing just one run and three hits.
 
Offensively, Wes Degener had five hits, four RBI, and two runs. Sosnowski and Singbush both had three RBI, and Teter, Behrens, Singbush, and Paul Sherwood each scored twice.
 
Lindenwood went 4-1 at the tournament. Offensively, the Lions hit .381 and averaged over nine runs a game. Defensively, they held opponents to a .259 batting average and they had a 4.29 ERA.
 
Degener finished the tournament hitting .524 with a .667 slugging percentage, and had eight RBI and four runs. Teter and Behrens each had a team-high seven runs, and Behrens tied Degenger with eight RBIs.
 
On the mound, four different pitchers had wins. Two of the biggest pitching performances were complete games by Andrew Eilers and Feldmann in the first two rounds, which allowed Lindenwood to save Law for his big four-inning performance in the finals.
 
With the tournament championship, Lindenwood receives the conference's automatic bid to the national tournament. The Lions, who are 35-18 on the year, will compete in the NCAA Central Region in Emporia, Kan. Action in that event begins on Thursday.