Box Score The Lindenwood baseball team picked up a big victory on Thursday night with a 7-5 win over Central Missouri. The Mules are ranked No. 4 at the NCAA Division II level and they saw their 12-game winning streak snapped by the Lions.

The Lions jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after hitting well against Central Missouri's starting pitcher. Three singles in the first inning led to one run on a RBI single by Ryan Light. Lindenwood added five more hits and three more runs in the fourth. The big play was a two-run single by Zach Kurzejeski.

Central Missouri answered with three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Lindenwood got those runs back with two tallies in the seventh and one in the eighth. Mike Wilson drove in two runners with a triple in the seventh, and Wade Rothermich drove in the final run with his third hit of the day.

The top team in the MIAA had their final rally in the eighth inning. Central Missouri loaded the bases with no outs, but reliever Ryan Griffin got the Mules' cleanup hitter to ground into a double play. Central Missouri did score twice in the inning but Lindenwood still led by two heading into the final inning. Griffin finished the Mules off with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Zac Pearman earned the win after allowing five runs and six hits in seven innings. He struck out six batters and walked four. Griffin pitched the final two innings, allowing two hits and striking out two. Offensively, Mario Parra had two runs, and Wilson and Kurzejeski each had two RBIs. Rothermich, Matt Tellor, Wilson, and Zach Loraine all had multi-hit games.

Lindenwood, which is now 19-16 on the year, will continue its four-game series against Central Missouri with a doubleheader on Friday.