By Ryan Atkinson
ratkinson@joplinglobe.com
PITTSBURG, Kan. — The tough luck continued Friday night for Tyler Lipscomb and the Missouri Southern Lions.
Lipscomb turned in a solid eight innings on the mound but served up Taylor House’s two-out, game-winning double in the eighth as the Lions fell 5-4 to the Pittsburg State Gorillas at Al Ortolani Field in the MIAA opener for both squads.
The two squads will play three more times this weekend, but the schedule has been revised. The Lions and Gorillas will meet for a single nine-inning game today at 1 p.m. before playing a pair of seven-inning contests on Sunday afternoon.
Southern (2-13) scored twice in the first and once more in the second before scoring just one more time in the final seven innings. The Lions left 13 runners on base, including eight in scoring position.
“The bottom line is we need to pick runners up,” MSSU coach Bryce Darnell said. “We couldn’t get a big hit and we couldn’t pick guys up.”
That lack of clutch hitting cost Lipscomb. The senior from Carthage allowed four earned runs, struck out seven and walked just one in eight innings but dropped his third decision of the season.
“He was very solid,“ Darnell said. “That’s what you get when he’s pitching. You know you’re going to be in the game and you know you’ll have a chance to win.
“He’s a competitor. He’s 0-3 right now but he’s left a couple games tied and then tonight. He gives us a chance to win.”
One of Lipscomb’s few mistakes, however, gave the Gorillas (6-7) the win.
After Southern knotted the game at 4-all in the top of the eighth when Cliff Wheeler’s sacrifice that scored Alec French, Pittsburg State came right back.
Nick Giuliani led off the bottom of the inning with a single and moved to second on Brock Hampton’s sacrifice bunt. After Lipscomb fanned Ben Ahrens, he and Darnell met for a quick conference.
But House then ripped a double off the left-center field wall, scoring Giuliani and giving the Gorillas the lead.
“We were debating who we were going to pitch to,” Darnell said. “To be honest, Lipscomb didn’t make a good pitch in that situation and he knows that. Give credit to their guy, he hit it.”
According to Pittsburg State coach Steve Bever, that’s not new for House.
“Taylor House is such a clutch performer,” Bever said. “He loves those situations. I could see that he was all smiles when I went out there to talk to him. That’s where he wanted to be.”
MSSU scored twice in the first when Wheeler led off with a walk, Gabe Wyatt singled on a bunt and Matthew Mantle drove them home with a two-out double. The Lions stretched their lead to 3-0 when Skyler Rawlins led off the second with a home run to left field.
The Gorillas answered with two runs in the second and two more in the third.
Sports
House’s hit edges Lions
Gorillas score with two out eighth inning
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