EVANSVILLE – Missouri State capped a busy Saturday with its second come-from-behind victory of the weekend to seal a series victory over the University of Evansville baseball team at Charles H. Braun Stadium.
The Bears (30-13, 11-0 Missouri Valley Conference) finalized its comeback effort from Friday evening with a 13-8 victory in the day's first action before storming to a six-run seventh in the second contest to win 9-5. The series will conclude on Sunday at 1 p.m.
On Friday night, the Aces grabbed an early 3-0 lead, but a seven-run fourth inning saw the Bears pull ahead before thunderstorms swept into the Evansville area. After a couple of time changes to get the field into playing condition, the Aces resumed play in the series opener late Saturday afternoon and impressed early, pushing across a pair of runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to tie things up before Jeremy Eierman's second home run of the contest highlighted the Bears out-scoring UE 6-1 over the final four frames.
Eierman ended 2-for-4 at the plate with five runs batted in, and Blake Graham enjoyed a 3-for-6 outing. The Aces actually out-hit the visitors from Springfield 9-8, but the difference was made in free passes as MSU earned 13 walks from the UE pitching staff.
Troy Beilsmith was the only Ace with multiple hits in the contest, finishing 3-for-4, and Brendan Krob touched home three times. Travis Tokarek, who ended 1-for-4, recorded his team-best seventh home run of the season.
In the second game, Korbin Williams left the park twice in the first three innings to take his season total to four, and Connor Strain largely shut down the prolific MSU offense, leaving the mound in line for the win after surrendering two hits and fanning six over five innings.
Williams ended the game 2-for-4, and both Trey Hair and Dalton Horstmeier picked up a pair of hits apiece.
However, the Aces, who had pulled ahead by five runs after six innings, fell victim to a six-run seventh, and the Bears went on to add one more in the eighth and two in the ninth to account for the final score.
Justin Paulsen led the way for MSU with a 3-for-6 day with three runs batted in, and Drew Millas picked up two hits as well as the Bears out-hit UE 11-9. The team also held a 10-4 edge in walks.
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