ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Five runs in the eighth inning turned a tight, back-and-forth game into a 9-3 win for Lindenwood (13-14, 7-6) in the first of three games for Griffon Baseball (10-10, 8-5) in St. Charles this weekend.
 
After the Griffons had tied the game three different times, Lindenwood took advantage of a couple walks and an error and did some work themselves in putting the game away with the five-run eighth.
 
NOTABLES

• It looked like it might be a home run derby early with Fahd Shakeel leading off the game with a solo homer to left on the first pitch of the game
• Lindenwood answered with a two-out solo shot in the bottom of the first
• The Lions took their first lead of the game on an RBI triple in the second
• Shakeel tied the game in the third with his second hit and RBI of the game, a single up the middle
• Jordan Jackson's pinch-hit, RBI-single in the sixth tied the game at three before Lindenwood answered again in the bottom of the sixth to take a 4-3 lead
• The first six Lions reached in the bottom of the eighth, giving Lindenwood an 8-3 lead
• A double play put the Griffs one out from ending the inning, but an error allowed the fifth run of the inning to score before Kyle Heckenbach – the fourth pitcher for MWSU in the inning – got his one batter to ground out
• Shakeel went 2-for-4 with a walk. He drove in two and scored one
• Casey Danley was also 2-for-4 with a run scored
• Jacob Purl took the loss, giving up four runs, three earned, on six hits with six strikeouts and three walks through six innings

 
UP NEXT
Game two of the series comes Saturday at 3 p.m.