SPRINGFIELD, Mo.—Four two-out runs in the third inning gave the Missouri State University baseball team a lead it would never lose on Friday night at Hammons Field in Springfield, Missouri, as the Bears held off the visiting University of Evansville Purple Aces, 7-4, in the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both teams.

 

After UE threatened but came up empty in both the first and third innings with two runners on base and two outs, Missouri State was able to capitalize with two outs in the bottom of the third inning to take control of the series opener. Designated hitter Luke Voit began the two-out rally with a two-strike RBI single to left-field to score Travis McComack with the game’s first run. Then, MSU senior right-fielder Christian Overstreet followed a walk by UE starter Keegan Dennis (1-2) with a two-strike home run to left field to give the Bears a 4-0 lead.

 

Evansville would answer back with a run in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly by freshman catcher Chris Pearson to trim the lead to 4-1. And, after a solo home run by Missouri State’s Aaron Conway pushed the lead to 5-1, UE rallied with two runs in the sixth and a run in the seventh to get back within a single run at 5-4. That would be as close as the Purple Aces would come though, as UE dropped to 10-13 on the season and 0-1 in the MVC with the loss.

 

“We just played okay today, we did not play well enough to win, especially on a Friday night in the Missouri Valley Conference,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “We had a lot of little mistakes today that, in the end, added up.

 

“All year long, with two outs, our situational hitting has been very good, but tonight, we left a lot of runners stranded, while Missouri State took advantage of their opportunities. Hopefully, a lot of our younger guys were able to get the nerves out tonight and we are able to bounce back tomorrow afternoon to even up this series.”

 

Freshman shortstop Eric Stamets led UE by going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, to move his league-leading total to 23 thefts on the season. Junior outfielder Greg Wallace also produced his seventh-straight multi-hit effort by going 2-for-5, while junior outfielder Nate Smith delivered an RBI triple and scored two runs. Both Overstreet and Voit went 3-for-3 to lead Missouri State offensively.

 

With the victory, Missouri State improves to 8-13 overall and 1-0 in the MVC. The two teams will continue the series on Saturday afternoon at 12 noon in a game that can be heard live on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.