No. 3 seed MSSU Baseball eliminated from MIAA tournament with loss against Emporia State
Missouri Southern Baseball has been eliminated from the MIAA tournament following a loss against 6-seed Emporia State. See our recap and highlights below.
EDMOND, OK. — Missouri Southern Baseball has been eliminated from the 2026 MIAA postseason tournament following a 4-2 loss against Emporia State late Thursday night. The Hornets built a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning with a 2-RBI single from Brady Unrein, but the Lions had an immediate response.
In the next fourth inning, Brayden Luikart got the Lions bats going with a triple before Blake Jones sent a two-run home run over the fence to tie the game up. From there, it was a bit of a pitchers dual as both squads combined for only 11 total hits — seven for Emporia State and four for MSSU. Owen Schneider was relieved after 6.
0 innings pitched, recording a quality start with 3 earned runs, 5 hits allowed and 4 strikeouts. The Hornets slowly but surely added two more runs, one in the sixth and another in the eighth, but the Lions had a chance for something special in the final stages. In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Lions managed to put two runners on base with the winning run at the plate.
However, all three outs in the final frame were recorded via strikeout, and the Lions rally attempt fell short. Missouri Southern will now wait patiently for the NCAA Division II Baseball National Tournament selection show taking place Sunday, May 10. If given an at-large berth the Lions will enter the field of 56 teams competing for a national title.