Lindenwood baseball (8-8, 0-0 OVC) split their weekend series with the Butler Bulldogs (6-8). The teams split their doubleheader on Friday before the Bulldogs took the Saturday game and Lindenwood finished the series with a win on Sunday. Kam Edwards shined at the plate for the Lions while Josh Newell and Ethan Smith starred on the bump in the series.
Game 1:
Lindenwood took the opening game Friday by the score of 13-3 in an eight-inning run rule. The Lions tallied 13 runs on 17 hits with Edwards, Tyler Thompson, and Evan Funkhouser each tallying three hits apiece. Six total Lions had multiple hits and at least one RBI. Newell shined on the mound going 6.1 innings, allowing three runs on five hits, and striking out five. The game was scoreless through three innings before Butler struck first in the top of the fourth as after a leadoff triple for Jack Bello, Harry Carr singled him home before coming around to score himself on an error from Lions catcher, Jake Radosevich. The Lions would respond in the bottom of the inning as Lindenwood loaded the bases with one out before Edwards drew an RBI walk followed up by a two-run double from Thompson and a two-run single from Bryson Arnette giving the Lions a 5-2 lead after four.
The Lions put two more runs up on the board in the bottom of the fifth off RBI singles from Thompson and Filip Sarota extending the Lions’ lead to 7-2. Newell would continue to twirl a gem as his team put up another three spot in the bottom of the sixth off an RBI double from Tanner Simpson, an RBI single from Charlie Isom-McCall and an Edwards RBI double extending the Lions lead to 10-3. Newell would surrender his third run of the game in the seventh before giving way to Carson Subbert who pitched the final 1.2 innings. A two-RBI error in the bottom of the eighth off the bat of McCall and Edwards’ RBI single would put an exclamation point on the Lions series’ opening run-rule win.
Game 2:
Butler would respond in game two of the Friday doubleheader with a come-from-behind 9-8 win. Sarota and Isom McCall led the way each tallying three hits and three RBIs in the loss with Arnette also chipping in with two hits and two RBIs. Eli Brown started for the Lions going 5.0 innings giving up five runs on seven hits while striking out five. Easton Rakers took the loss for Lindenwood pitching 3.1 innings of relief and giving up one run on three hits and four strikeouts.
Butler opened the scoring in the top of the first off a homer from Jack Moroknek. Lindenwood wouldn’t be kept silent for long as Seth Grunberg went yard for his second homer of the year to tie the game at 1-1 before Isom McCall singled to center scoring Brodie Short giving the Lions a 2-1 lead. Arnette would tack another run on the board in the bottom of the third on an RBI single before Isom McCall put a charge into one, sending it deep over the wall in left field for a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth extending the lead to 5-1.
Butler would tie the game in the top of the fifth off an RBI single from Ryan Drumm and Moroknek second home run of the game, a towering three-run shot to right-center tying the game at 5-5. Lindenwood would take the lead right back in the bottom half of the inning off Sarota’s fifth homer of the season, this one a two-run shot reclaiming the lead at 7-5. Butler would take their first lead since the first inning as they tagged Michael Walsh with a three-spot in the sixth capped off by a two-run single from AJ Soloman giving the Bulldogs an 8-7 lead.
Both offenses would then go quiet before Lindenwood tied the game in the bottom of the eighth with a two out, bases loaded, RBI single from Arnette. Moroknek would have something to say about that in the top of the ninth as he launched his third home run of the game, this one a go-ahead moonshot deep into right center field reclaiming the lead at 9-8. The Lions would try to mount one final comeback in the bottom of the ninth as two walks put runners and first and second with two outs but Edwards would ground out to second base to end the game.
Game 3:
Butler would get it done again on Saturday squeaking out a close 11-10 win over the Lions. Edwards and Thompson each tallied five hits for Lindenwood as four different Lions launched homers in the loss. Zach Buschschulte and Tanner Paschke got hit around in the loss as the duo combined to give up nine on 11 hits in 6.0 combined innings of work. Dillon Haftorson also gave up a pair of runs in his one inning while Matt James and Ryan Sell each tossed scoreless frames.
It was Lindenwood who got in the score column first as after Edwards left off with a double Thompson scored him on an RBI single. The Lions would add a second run in the second off Simpson’s first home run of the season. Butler would tie the game at 2-2 in the top of the third as David Ayers singled home a pair of runs getting the Bulldogs on the board. The Bulldogs would take their first lead in the top of the fourth off a Zach Munton sacrifice fly. Butler would continue to tack on runs putting up a five spot in the fifth capped off by a Munton two-run double extending their lead to 8-2. A ninth run would be tacked on in the sixth courtesy of a Bello RBI double.
Edwards would get the rally started for the Lions in the bottom of the sixth as he launched his first home run to right-center cutting the lead to 9-5. An Ayers RBI groundout and a Bello RBI single would extend the Bulldogs lead to 11-5 in the top of the eighth. The Lions would try to mount one last comeback in the top of the ninth as Radosevich led off with a homer, his fourth of the year. Mitch Cummins would follow it up by also launching his home run of the season cutting the Bulldogs lead to 11-8. Sarota would double home two more cutting the lead to one at 11-10 as the all the momentum seemed to be with the Lions as Short stepped to the plate with two outs and the tying run on second but would ground out to second ending the game.
Game 4:
The Lions would get back in the win column on Sunday as a stellar pitching performance from Ethan Smith and three more hits from Edwards led the Lions to a 5-4 win. Smith tossed 6.0 brilliant innings only giving up one run on three hits, striking out five and walking none. Bennett Stice closed out the final three innings for Lindenwood giving up three runs on five hits and striking out three.
Butler struck first in the top of the first as Bello continued his hot series scorching an RBI double down the right field line bringing home Ayers but that would be the only run the Bulldogs would score against Smith who also only surrendered one more hit the rest of his outing. Short would lead off the bottom of the second for Lindenwood with a double, advance to third on a groundout from Arnette and score on a Funkhouser groundout tying the game at 1-1.
Smith continued to stifle the Bulldogs offense as the Lions finally broke the tie in the bottom of the fifth as Sarota laced an RBI single into left field giving the Lions a 2-1 lead. Lindenwood would extend their lead to 5-1 in the seventh as Grunberg connected for a two RBI single before Short hit a sac fly to center. Butler would cut the lead to one in the eighth off yet another two-run homer from Moroknek and an RBI single from Tommy Townsend but Stice would get out of the jam with the Lions still up one.
Butler would get a leadoff double to start the ninth but Stice would follow it up with a pair of strikeouts and inducing a popup to short closing out the 5-4 win for Lindenwood.
Baseball will be back in action midweek with a two game series on March 11 and 12 against the Murray State Racers before heading to Memphis Tennessee for their final non-conference series of the year against the Memphis Tigers March 14-16.
