The Missouri State baseball team dug out of a 6-0 hole by scoring 11 runs in the fifth and sixth innings on the way to an 11-7 victory against Arkansas-Little Rock Monday evening at Gary Hogan Field in Little Rock.
The Bears moved to 9-8 on the season after capturing the season series victory over UALR, while the Trojans dipped to 10-12.
After tying the game with a huge fifth inning, Missouri State dealt the game-clinching blow in the sixth. The first four Bears reached safely and after Matt Lawson was caught stealing Ben Woodbury was up with the bases loaded and one out. The center fielder hit a bouncer to the second baseman and was thrown out at first, but the home plate umpire ruled catcher’s interference and Woodbury was awarded first base. Ryan Mantle scored on the play to give MSU its first lead at 7-6. UALR subbed Mike Rogers in to pitch, and Nolan Keane ripped his first delivery just inside the foul pole in right for Missouri State’s first grand slam in nearly three years, as the Bears completed a stretch of 11 unanswered runs in two innings.
The Trojans had runners on second and third after just two batters in the first thanks to a hit by pitch, a single and an error. Right fielder Osvaldo Torres singled both men home to give UALR a 2-0 lead.
UALR added four more runs in the third, using an RBI single from Brian Asbill, a two-run double by Robert Taylor and the Bears’ second error of the game on what looked to be the third out to extend the lead to 6-0.
Missouri State’s offense erupted to tie it 6-6 in the top of the fifth. Brayden Drake reached on an error to open the frame and Lawson and Mantle loaded the bases with consecutive singles before Clay Coulter slapped a two-run single to right. Chris Taylor reached safely on third baseman Brian Smiley’s second error of the inning to load the bases again, and Keane pulled an RBI single through the right side to plate Mantle. Kyle Paul drove in the Bears’ fourth run with a grounder to third, and Ben Carlson tied the game with a two-run double into the left field corner.
Austin Todd relieved Pat Doyle in the fourth after the starter surrendered six runs in three innings. The southpaw settled things down, facing the minimum for his first 11 outs before Torres had an infield single in the seventh. Todd went 4.1 innings, giving up a run on two hits, and improved his record to 1-1. Matt Frevert closed the game out with three strikeouts over the final 1.2 innings.
Arkansas-Little Rock scored one in the eighth for the final score.
Keane went 2-for-5 and drove in an MSU season-high five runs, while Carlson, Lawson, Mantle and Coulter all registered multi-hit games. Lawson also extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
The Bears open a two-game midweek series at Arkansas State tomorrow at 6 p.m.
