The Missouri State baseball team scored nine runs in the final two innings to come back from a 6-5 deficit and defeat Arkansas-Little Rock 14-8 Sunday afternoon at Clay Gould Ballpark in Arlington, Texas.
MSU knocked 15 hits, with 10 players collecting at least one, to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2002. The Trojans fell to 0-3.
The Bears jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first when Brayden Drake doubled to left to drive home Nolan Keane, and added to the lead in the third after Ben Woodbury stole home, but left the bases loaded in the frame after extending the advantage to 2-0. Woodbury finished the day with four base hits to bring his weekend total to 10 in three games.
Freshman southpaw Aaron Meade got eight outs before giving up a hit in his first career start, and allowed just the one hit over 3.2 innings before leaving the game after UALR scored a two-out unearned run in the fourth. Meade struck out five Trojans on the afternoon.
Missouri State scored again on Josh Mazzola’s leadoff home run in the fourth, plated a second run in the inning when Curt Courtwright scored on Aaron Conway’s RBI single and made the score 5-0 following an RBI fielder’s choice by Keane.
Now leading 5-1 in the bottom of the fifth, the Bears saw UALR cut the lead in half on a double by Matt Apfel and then score on a wild pitch by reliever Cody Aycock to make it a 5-4 game. Aycock allowed three hits and two runs over 2.2 innings before giving way to Tyler Ryun, the Bears’ fourth freshman pitcher of the game. Ryun struck out the first batter he faced in the eighth, the first part of a double play after Hord threw out a base stealer.
Ryun gave up two runs in the ninth but earned the save, and Aycock earned the victory on the mound.
The first four UALR batters reached safely in the bottom of the seventh on three singles and a walk, and two of those came around to score to give the Trojans their first lead of the contest at 6-5.
MSU rallied in the eighth, beginning with Chris Playter’s pinch-hit double. Conway then singled to left and advanced to second on the throw home to put runners on second and third for Woodbury. The Bears’ centerfielder chopped a grounder to third and beat the throw to first for a base hit. Woodbury and the UALR first baseman collided at the base, and the ball rolled away to allow a second run to score on the play for a 7-6 MSU lead.
The Bears cushioned the lead even more in the ninth. Dallas Hord led off with a single and Ben Carlson walked to set up a sacrifice bunt attempt by Ryan Mantle. The UALR catcher fielded the bunt and threw the ball into the right field corner, allowing Hord to score from second and putting runners on second and third with no outs. Playter drew a walk to load the bases and Gavin Gray plunked pinch-hitter Matt Welch to force Carlson home. Gray then walked Christian Overstreet to make the score 10-6 in favor of the Bears. Keane hit an RBI single, Drake hit a sac fly and Alex Pickett hit a two-run single to cap the seven-run inning.
Missouri State opens a four-game set at Central Arkansas on Thursday (Feb. 28) at 3 p.m.
