Four Missouri State pitchers held Saint Louis to five hits and the offense scored all nine runs in the first five innings in a 9-1 non-conference baseball victory over Saint Louis Wednesday at Hammons Field.
The Bears improved to 15-9 with the win, while SLU fell to 5-21.
MSU’s Chris Mackey went six innings and earned his first win of the season. The junior southpaw allowed four hits and a run while striking out six Billikens. Jeff Sargent, Sean Toler and Pat Doyle pitched the final three frames and gave up one hit combined.
Missouri State scored three runs in the bottom of the first. Nolan Keane and Matt Lawson hit one-out singles and Ben Carlson walked to load the bases. Ryan Mantle drew another walk to force Keane home, and Brayden Drake ripped a double down the left field line to bring home two more runs.
The Bears added two more in the second, beginning the frame with four consecutive singles. Curt Courtwright led off with his first career hit, and Woodbury and Lawson’s hits were for RBIs.
Courtwright led off the fourth with another single and moved to third when Woodbury singled to right. Woodbury stole second and each man came around to score on RBI ground outs by Keane and Lawson to make it a 7-1 advantage.
After SLU pushed across its first run in the fifth, Drake and Josh Mazzola swatted solo home runs in the bottom of the inning. Each ball easily cleared the bullpen in left.
Missouri State travels to Normal, Ill., this weekend for a three-game MVC set with Illinois State. First pitch Friday is at 3 p.m.
