Box score

JOPLIN, Mo. -- Nine runs weren't enough to complete the comeback, as the SBU Bearcats fell to the Lions of Missouri Southern, 11-9. After jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, the Lions would answer in the bottom half of the inning with three runs of their own. The Bearcats would put up three more runs in the third, tallying three hits and taking advantage of a Southern error. The Lions put together a big inning, however, and took the lead for good with a 8-5 lead after three innings.

Bearcat left fielder Paden Grubbs hit a solo home run in the seventh, giving him 12 on the season, the most by a Bearcat since Jason Hines' dozen long balls in 2004. Grubbs also drove in his 42nd RBI of the year, the most since Kevin Miller in 2006.

Third baseman Justin Barnhart went 3-for-5, scoring three runs, highlighted by a fourth-inning triple that scored SBU shortstop Nigel Morton. Centerfielder Niko Saladis had a triple of his own in the first, bringing in Barnhart to gain the early lead. As a team, SBU has 11 triples, five of which have come over the last five games. The performance against Southern marks the second two-triple game in the last two weeks, as Morton and Justin Crumpley both hit three-baggers against Central Missouri.

Missouri Southern took the four-game sweep with the win, as SBU fell to 11-39 overall, and 9-31 in conference play. The series against the Lions closed out the MIAA schedule, but not necessarily the season. Due to the bad weather at the end of last month, SBU head coach Sam Berg is looking to add another date to the home schedule before the end of the 2010 season, but has yet to confirm an opponent.