Box Score (PDF)
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The 21st-ranked Lyon College baseball team and Columbia College combined to score 17 runs on 29 hits on Sunday afternoon, but it was the Scots who came away with a 9-8 win in the rubber game against the Cougars. Lyon improved to 17-5 (8-1 American Midwest Conference) with the win, while CC fell to 15-5 (4-2 AMC).
After a scoreless inning by both teams in the first inning, the Scots plated the first run of the series finale in the top of the second. After Tristan Buschow knocked a one-out single to center, Darius Anderson came on to run for Buschow. Anderson motored his way around to third on a Columbia College throwing error. The errant throw proved costly as Ryan Clack singled to center to score Anderson and gave the Scots a 1-0 lead.
Columbia pushed across two runs in the bottom half of the second before the Scots tied the game at 3-3 on a sacrifice fly by Alan West in the top of the third.
The Cougars regained the lead in the bottom of the third on a lead-off, solo home run by Kendrick Delima before adding another run in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI-single by Jarett Newell.
The Scots regained the lead in the top of the fifth as Troy Strack, Buschow and Chris Lara all plated a run with a base hit in the inning.
The seesaw battle continued as Brad Prebay tied the game at 5-5 with an RBI-double in the bottom of the fifth.
Columbia tried to put the game away as the Cougars tacked on three runs in the bottom of the seventh, but the Scots responded with their second, three-run frame in the next half inning. With two outs in the top of the eighth, Kylan Barnett started a rally for the Scots with a single before he came around to score on an RBI-double by West. Cole McSwain came on as a pinch hitter and got hit by a pitch before Dalton Ernest came on to run. Strack followed with a two-run double to left to tie the game at 8-8.
The Scots broke the tie in the top of the ninth as the Scots had runners on the corners with one out in the inning. West came up to the plate next for the Scots and delivered the go-ahead run with a single to left to score Jake Michener and gave Lyon a 9-8 lead.
Columbia had a chance to at least tie the game in the bottom of the ninth with two runners on and no outs in the inning, but Ethan Denney struck out the first batter he faced and got the next batter to hit into a game-ending double play as the Scots held on for the win.
West led the Scots offensively as he finished the game 4-for-5 at the plate with three RBI and one run scored. Barnett collected three hits, while Strack also drove in three runs for the Scots.
The Scots will have a quick turnaround as they will travel to No. 8 Freed-Hardeman for an AMC doubleheader on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
Baseball Contact: Matt Jagodzinski | 870-307-7516 | matthew.jagodzinski@lyon.edu
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