Taylor Hodges, Sports Informaton Director

HENDERSON, Tenn. – The Lions (44-15) fell 8-3 to the No. 1 seed Oklahoma Wesleyan (46-9) in game five of the Henderson Bracket in the opening round of the NAIA National Tournament.

The game was scoreless thru the first four innings, and it looked like it would be a pitcher's duel between Tyson Cronin of the Eagles and Austin Steel for the Lions.

That ended up not being the case, though, as the top-seeded Eagles were able to pile on five runs in the top of the fifth inning to take the commanding lead.

Oklahoma Wesleyan was able to string together a couple of hits that resulted in three runs. That was followed by a two-run shot hit by Drenis Ozuna to extend the lead to five.

The Lions were able to bounce back and score three runs combined in the the fifth and sixth innings combined.

The one runs scored in the fifth came when Josh Sears brought in Dom Pisano with a sacrifice fly. Pisano made a big impact in the following inning with a two-run double that burned Wesleyan center fielder Colton Kelly and one hopped the wall to make it a two-run game.

After Tyrek White and Tyson Campbell were able to hold the Eagles scoreless in the sixth and seventh innings, the visitors on the scoreboard were able to get those three runs back to get their lead back to five, which they would hold on to until the end of the game.

Collin McPherson had a strong game at the plate for the Lions, going 3-for-4 on the day with a couple of singles and a double. Campbell entered the game out of the bullpen for the Lions in the top of the seventh inning for his first appearance in over six weeks. He struck out five batters in his three innings of action.

The Lions will take on Texas Wesleyan on Wednesday at 12 noon in an elimination game. The winner will take on Oklahoma Wesleyan at 3:30 in the Henderson Bracket Championship with an if-necessary game scheduled for Thursday at 12 noon