ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Behind a seven-strikeout start from Jared Wells, the Missouri Western baseball team salvaged a 3-0 upset win over No. 4 Missouri Southern State University on Friday to close the series.

Wells rolled through the top of the Lion order in the first with three consecutive strikeouts, and retired the first eight batters he faced. After a brief hiccup in the top of the third, he settled back into the groove.

Missouri Western threatened first in the top of the fifth, as Maurice Bruce cracked a leadoff triple to left center. The Griffons couldn't convert, however, as Bruce was thrown out at home on a Bailey Crump grounder to short.

Wells retired Missouri Southern in order in the top of the sixth and got the Lions to lead off the seventh with a ground out to short. After a MSSU double, however, Wells handed the pitching duties off to Robert Farrell, and the Griffons were able to escape the inning unscathed.

MWSU broke the game open with two runs in the bottom half of the frame. After reaching first on an error, Ben Tsui raced around to score on a double by Bruce. A sac bunt from Brady Holden moved Bruce up 90 feet, and Brock Wrolstad plated Bruce with a sac fly to left.

The Griffons added a run in the bottom of the eighth, as Tsui laced a two-out double down the left-field line to score Alex Crouch from second.

Missouri Southern threatened briefly in the top of the ninth, earning a pair of one-out walks, but the Griffons held strong on defense to close out the 3-0 win.

Farrell recorded his first win of the season to move MWSU to 3-11 (2-7 MIAA) on the year, with Will Bausinger (3-1) taking the loss for Southern, which fell to 13-2 (7-2 MIAA) for 2021.

The Griffons head south to Wichita, Kan., to take on Newman University in a three-game MIAA series next weekend. First pitch for game one of the series is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Friday, March 19.