SAUGET, Ill. – (RV) MBU Baseball (32-15, 19-10 AMC) split a road doubleheader with Lindenwood-Belleville (28-25, 16-13 AMC) on Friday afternoon at GCS Ballpark. The Spartans surrendered a late lead in a 7-5 game one defeat. They would rally in game two to earn the split with a 7-4 victory.
 
Friday's results combined with Columbia taking the first two in its series with Lyon, means the Spartans will finish either third or fourth in the AMC regular season standings. A win in Saturday's series finale would secure the third spot in next week's postseason tournament. First pitch has been pushed back to noon on Saturday, pending questionable weather.
 
Missouri Baptist 5, Lindenwood-Belleville 7 (7 Inn.)
 
With the wind blowing out in game one, the Spartans got on the board first in the opening inning. Three straight two-out hits led to two runs. DeShawn Lookout singled and then scored on a double off the centerfield wall by Anthony Enwiya. Enwiya came home by way of a single by Mason Washington for a 2-0 MBU lead.
 
The Lynx responded with a two-run home run from Matt Janocik in the bottom of the inning but the Spartans came right back to retake the lead in the second. Michael McGhee's fifth long ball of the year made it 3-2.
 
Mason Washington matched McGhee with his fifth homer of the season in the third inning. The two-run drive made it 5-2 and the Spartans looked to be in control.
 
Starter Austin Worrell put together two straight clean innings before running into trouble in the fourth. The redshirt freshman loaded the bases and then walked in a run, all before an out was recorded. But Worrell would then lock in and strike out three straight hitters to escape with just the one run allowed.
 
Worrell would not be as fortunate in the fifth. Two singles and a hit by pitch loaded the bases once again. This time, the Lynx did not squander the opportunity. CJ Norman took the first pitch he saw and launched it over the left centerfield fence for a grand slam. In the blink of an eye, it was 7-5 LUB.
 
Missouri Baptist could not generate any offense in the sixth or seventh inning against Lynx starter Camron Shipley. Despite 10 hits and five runs, MBU let the series opener slip away.
 
Missouri Baptist 7, Lindenwood-Belleville 4
 
Game two was another fast start for the visitors but this time they would hold on. Caleb Dean homered on the first pitch of the game for a 1-0 lead. A double from DeShawn Lookout and a single from Mason Washington doubled the advantage.
 
Washington replicated that feat in the third. After reaching on a play involving two throwing errors, Lookout again came around to score on a single. Jonathon Pasillas followed Washington and added the Spartans' second home run of the game. Pasillas' second of the year made it 5-0.
 
In the fourth, another home run from Caleb Dean (a two-run shot) made it 7-0. Lindenwood-Belleville would chip away with a pair of home runs against Josh Ray but 7-4 was as close as they would come.
 
Ray completed eight solid innings before turning it over to Hayden Crowe in the ninth. Crowe worked a clean frame to earn his third save. Ray picked up the win and moved to 7-1.
 
The top four in the Spartan lineup spurred the offense in both games. Hitting out of the three-hole, DeShawn Lookout finished the day a combined 4-8 with four runs scored. Mason Washington matched Lookout's 4-8 and added five RBIs. Add in Dean's two HRs and a 2-5 effort from Hunter Hill and MBU's 1-4 hitters combined for eight of the team's 12 hits in game two.