FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 5, 2007

Southern sweeps double-header from Pitt State

Game one box score
Game two box score
 
Pittsburg, Kan. - Senior Brett Velliquette drove in five runs on the day to lead the Missouri Southern Lions to a sweep of the Pittsburg State Gorillas in a doubleheader played Saturday (May 5) in Pittsburg, Kan.

Matt Mantle got the Lions going in the opener with a three-run home run in the second inning that gave Southern an early 3-0 lead.

The Gorillas answered with a three-run blast of their own by Brock Hampton in the bottom half of the second to tie the score at 3-3.

The Lions (18-31, 11-23, MIAA) regained the lead with a run in the third and then Velliquette and senior Kyle Cupp each had two-run singles in the fourth to pace a four-run inning for the Lions that put MSSU ahead 8-3.

Southern took a seven-run lead with a pair of runs in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Velliquette and a solo homer from Luke Lawver.

The Gorillas (23-30, 14-20 MIAA) fought back with five runs in the bottom of the sixth, keyed by a three-run homer by Justin Northern.

MSSU's Justin Huether and PSU's Jeff Deao each hit solo blasts in the seventh as the Lions hung on for the two-run victory.

Lawver went the distance for Southern, receiving the win after giving up nine runs, eight earned and striking out three.

Henry Adams was the difference in the nightcap for the Lions, driving in four runs, including a game-winning two-run double in the top of the seventh as the Lions rallied for a 6-5 victory.

The Lions scored the first three runs of the second game on a sacrifice fly by Velliquette in the first and a two-run homer from Adams in the third.

MSSU senior starter Andrew Doennig sailed through the first four innings unscathed on only three hits, but PSU broke through with a three-run fifth inning that featured a two-run double by Northern that tied the score 3-3. Doennig was charged with only one run in four innings before giving way to senior Michael Meyer with no outs in the fifth inning.

PSU took their first lead of game two in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI double by Drew Schulte and another run on a wild pitch to go up 5-3 after six innings.

After the Lions grabbed the lead with those three tallies in the seventh, senior Aaron Jenkins came on and shut out the Gorillas in the ninth for his second save of the season.

Senior Matt Habermehl got the win by pitching one inning of relief and allowing two runs, one earned and three hits.

Southern will conclude the 2007 season at Pitt State tomorrow (May 6) with one nine-inning contest at 1 p.m. in what will be head coach Warren Turner's final game at the helm of the Lions after 31 seasons.