JOPLIN, Mo. – Missouri S&T was two outs away from securing its second win over Missouri Southern in a span of three weeks, but the host Lions tied the game in the bottom of the ninth and won it 9-8 in the 10^th on Denver Coffee's walk-off home run.

The Miners (3-8) had rallied from a five-run deficit to take the lead in the sixth and carried that advantage into the ninth before the Lions (14-3) tied it on three walks and a fielder's choice.  In the 10^th, after S&T was set down in order in the top half of the inning, Coffee fell behind in the count against Bryan Nolan (Ballwin, MO/St. Louis University HS), but hit a 1-2 pitch over the fence in right to win the game.

After the Lions scored a run in the opening inning, the Miners tied it in the second when Kaleb Reid (Smithville, MO/Smithville) doubled home Tim Lira (Granger, IN/Penn).  However, Southern regained the advantage right away when it came to bat in the third when Jon Leighton hit a leadoff homer, then tacked on four more runs – with only one other hit in the frame -- and knocked out S&T starter Matthew Lamb (Doniphan, NE/Grand Island) in the process.

S&T chipped into the Lion lead in the third when Cameron Burk (Nacogdoches, TX/Cushing) hit an opposite field home run, then it tied the contest with a four-run uprising in the fourth.

Lira led off the fourth with a hit, then Connor Forsythe singled with one out to put runners at the corners.  Reid delivered another RBI double to score Lira, then Forsythe scored on a ground ball to cut the Southern lead to 6-4.  S&T then loaded the bases to force a pitching change and Matt Knickerbocker (Bayfield, CO/Bayfield) greeted Joey Reeves with a ground rule double to tie the game.

MSSU regained the lead on Alec Alvarez's RBI double in the bottom of the fourth, but the Miners took their first lead of the day in the sixth.

Justus Nelson (Plymouth, MN/Robbinsdale Armstrong) doubled to the opposite field with one out, then Burk singled him home and reached second himself on an error.  After a ground ball advanced him to third, Burk scored on a ground rule double by Lucas Swindle (Weldon Spring, MO/Lutheran-St. Charles).

The Miner bullpen kept the lead intact until the ninth when the Lions tied the contest.

Missouri S&T, who used seven pitchers in the game, outhit Southern 12-6 as Burk went three-of-four and Lira and Reid had two hits apiece.

The Miners return home Saturday to begin a four-game weekend series against Upper Iowa at the S&T Ballpark. Saturday's twinbill gets underway at noon.