The Lindenwood baseball team (16-15, 10-7 MIAA) picked up a pair of wins over Fort Hays State (3-23, 2-15 MIAA) on Sunday in Hays, Kan.  The Lions opened the weekend with a 13-1 victory in seven innings, before closing out the day with a 16-3 win in game two.
 
GAME ONE OVERVIEW
The Lions put the bat on the ball early and often on Sunday, which led to the first runs of game one in the second inning.  Ryan Sosnowski and Bryce Beckmann hit back-to-back doubles to make it a 1-0 game.  Ryan Venne drove in Beckman on the next at bat, and later scored on a double by Kolby Schulte to give Lindenwood a 3-0 lead.  Beckmann added a run in the third on a sacrifice fly to right field.
 
DJ Miller broke the game open with a two-RBI double in the fourth to make it 6-0.  In the fifth inning, Venne drove in Beckmann for the second time in the game, and he would score on a sacrifice fly by Schulte to extend the lead.  The Lions poured on the runs in the sixth as Calvin Nowak drew a bases-loaded walk.
 
On the next pitch, Schulte hit a bases-clearing double to right field for three more runs.  Jayce Maag capped off the scoring with an-RBI single down the left field line.  Kyle Hentis had his best outing of the year after tossing a complete-game five-hit victory.  Hentis struck out eight batters and allowed just one run in the seven innings.
 
GAME ONE LEADERS
Kolby Schulte (3-for-4, 5 RBI, 2 R, 2 2B, 1 SF)
DJ Miller (3-for-5, 2 RBI, 1 R, 2 2B)
Bryce Beckmann (2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 2B, 1 SF)
 
GAME TWO OVERVIEW
The second game of the day got off to a slower start for the Lions, but they had strong pitching from Brody Roach who went six innings.  Miller drove in the first run of the game in the top of the third inning on a fielder's choice that allowed Nowak to score.  Nowak drove in Sosnowski in the top of the sixth to make it a 2-0 ball game.  After completing the sixth inning, Roach tallied eight strikeouts and allowed just four hits.
 
The Lions broke the game open in the top of the seventh after Neil Fischer hit a three-run blast to left field, making it 5-0.  Nowak hit a triple to left center a few batters later, allowing Beckmann and Venne to score.  Lindenwood plated two more runs in the inning on fielding errors to give the Lions a 9-0 advantage.  Venne reached on an error in the eight, but it allowed two more runs to cross the plate.  Fort Hays State avoided the mercy rule with three runs in the bottom half of the inning, making it an 11-3 Lindenwood lead.
 
Fischer hit another three-run shot to centerfield in the top of the ninth to make it 14-3.  Venne closed out the scoring in the second game with a two-RBI single up the middle, giving the Lions the eventual 16-3 victory.
 
GAME TWO LEADERS
Neil Fischer (2-for-4, 6 RBI, 2 R, 2 HR, 2 BB)
Ryan Venne (2-for-5, 4 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB)
Calvin Nowak (2-for-5, 3 RBI, 2 R, 1 3B, 1 BB)
 
UP NEXT
The Lions will close out the series with Fort Hays State on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Hays, Kan.