SPRINGFIELD, Mo.—Ryan Mantle’s three-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning Saturday proved to be the difference in a pitcher’s duel between Evansville’s John Foley and Missouri State’s Buddy Baumann, as the home-standing Bears knocked off the visiting Purple Aces, 4-1, at Hammons Field in Springfield, Missouri.

 

Foley and Baumann traded zeros through the first four innings on four combined hits before the Bears grabbed a 1-0 lead on an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Bears would then take advantage of three Foley walks in the sixth inning to grab a four-run cushion on Mantle’s three-run double to the wall in right-center field.

 

Evansville would trim the deficit to 4-1 in the seventh inning on a two-out RBI single by freshman outfielder Greg Wallace, and would load the bases in the eighth inning with only one out, but Missouri State closer Matt Frevert was able to induce an inning-ending double play to get out of the jam and record his fourth save of the year.

 

“This one hurts, probably more than most of the games this year,” said UE head coach David Seifert. “I thought that John Foley was outstanding today, and we did a great job of battling at the plate offensively. We just couldn’t get that key hit that we needed to get some runs across today.

 

“I have liked our offensive approach so far this weekend though. Our guys have had a good approach and battled hard, but we still need to get that key hit to score some runs this weekend.”

 

Sophomore outfielder Jared Baehl led Evansville’s nine-hit attack on Saturday, going 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Junior infielder Andy Smith and sophomore catcher Andy Pascoe also had two hits apiece. Second baseman Chris Playter had three of Missouri State’s five hits, while Mantle had three RBI.

 

Foley (2-3) suffered the loss for Evansville despite tossing his first complete-game as a Purple Ace by scattering four runs (three earned) on five base hits. Baumann (3-3) surrendered just a single run on seven base hits and seven strikeouts in 7.0 innings of work.

 

With the victory, Missouri State improves to 21-11 overall and 7-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Evansville, meanwhile, drops to 6-26 and 1-10 in the MVC. The two teams will conclude the series on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in a game that can be heard live on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.