BOLIVAR, Mo. — The Southwest Baptist University baseball team got a strong pitching from Luke Lucas and the Bearcats capitalized on a three-run fourth inning to take a 5-1 victory over Pittsburg State University Friday (Apr. 22) at Dodson Field.

The Bearcats (18-23, 13-18 MIAA) evened the best of three series against the Gorillas (12-28, 7-24 MIAA) with the win. The two teams will complete the series with a 1 p.m. (CDT) game Saturday.

Lucas (1-3) limited Pitt State to four hits in seven innings of work. He allowed just a single run in the fifth inning while walking three and fanning six batters.

Cooper Karlin and Sam Falcon drew back-to-back walks to open the Pitt State fifth. The advanced a base on Brett Macary's sacrifice bunt and Karlin scored on Cole Brecheisen's RBI groundout.

Pitt State starter Ryan McKay (2-4) established a new MIAA record for career appearances in the contest. He made his 13th appearance of the season and his 81st career appearance for the Gorillas. McKay allowed four runs on five hits and four walks in four innings of work.