JOPLIN, Mo. -- Washburn battled back from two early leads but were unable to mount a third late comeback, falling to No. 8 Missouri Southern 11-8 in the final game of the series. The Ichabods stay on the road for one more game taking on Northwest Missouri State on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
Washburn (16-12, 10-6 MIAA) got two hits in the first inning but couldn't bring across any runs. Chase Torkelson started on the mound for the Ichabods and completed a scoreless overall first inning. Missouri Southern (26-6, 13-3 MIAA) doubled to lead off the second and hit a one-out homer to open up the scoring. After a single with two outs another home run made it a 4-0 game.
Cale Savage walked with one out in the third and moved to second on a double by Cash Jay. Hayden Priest scored Savage and moved up Jay with an RBI grounder. Jay scored a second run on a wild pitch to cut the lead in half. In the home half of the inning the Lions got another two-run home run to make the deficit four once again.
Washburn was able to even up the score in the fourth with Connor Scott reaching on a double, Trevor McCollum walking and Payton McHarg getting hit by a pitch. Cale Savage doubled to score Scott and McCollum. Jay followed another two RBI double to tie the game at six.
Missouri Southern didn't trail for long, going back in front with a solo homer to lead off the bottom of the inning, but that is all they would score. The Ichabods put together three straight singles from Scott, Cal Watkins and McCollum to plate one and tie the game once again in the fifth.
The Lions got another quick start to the next inning, scoring three runs with a double, single and three-run home run. In the seventh inning they added another run on a one-out solo home run. Kai Bennett finished out the seventh inning to keep Missouri Southern scoreless and the score stayed the same through the eighth inning.
Blake Scott was hit by a pitch to lead off the ninth, Chase Littrell pinch ran for him and got to third on a double by Watkins. Grant Jones singled through the right side to score Littrell but that was all the scoring the Ichabods could mount, falling 11-8 in the series finale.
At the plate Washburn picked up 16 hits from nine different players. Cal Watkins, Cash Jay and Connor Scott all had three in the game while Jay drove in a pair of runs.
On the mound the Ichabods struck out nine while walking four and allowing 15 hits.
