JOPLIN, Mo. --- Washburn baseball dropped its series opener against Missouri Southern in a 13-10 slugfest on Friday evening in Joplin, Mo. With the result WU slips to 15-10 on the season and 7-7 in conference play.
 
WU was led at the plate by Riley Krane who went 4-for-5 with three runs batted-in and finished a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. Tanner Triggs' lone hit of the evening was good for four RBI to go along with his two walks. The balance if the Ichabod hits were equally distributed among five batters.
 
A tough outing resulted in the loss for Nick Silva (3-4) as he conceded 11 runs with 10 earned on nine hits in two innings of work. Drew Johnson tossed 4.2 innings of relief allowing two runs on three hits before making way for Brock Gilliam made his season debut as he pitched the final 1.1 innings.
 
After a RBI double by Krane to score Darian Abram the Ichabods extended their lead in grand fashion as Triggs launched a four-run home run over the right field fence to give WU a 5-0 lead. The grand slam by Triggs marks the first since Zach Macke accomplished the feat last season on April 24 against Lincoln University. By the end of the inning, Missouri Southern closed the margin to a two-run deficit thanks to a three-run home run.
 
Josh Crosby then added to the Washburn effort early in the second frame with a two-run blast for his first career home run. The home half of the inning saw the Lions use timely hitting to rally back and erase the difference and take an 8-7 lead.
 
MSSU added three runs in the third before Bowe Behymer came across to score for the Ichabods in the fourth to make it 11-8. WU scored once more in the seventh and eighth but it was not enough as the Lions' scored twice in the seventh.
 
Washburn continue its series tomorrow afternoon with the first pitch slated for 1 p.m.