Missouri State notched season-highs of 15 runs and 17 hits Saturday to earn a 15-4 non-conference baseball victory over Central Arkansas at UCA Field in Conway, Ark.

MSU topped the 10-run mark for the fourth time in six games to improve to 5-1 on the year, while UCA fell to 4-3.

Missouri State’s offense erupted for big innings in the third and sixth, scoring a combined 12 runs in those two frames.

Already leading 1-0, MSU added to its lead in the third when Nolan Keane doubled home Ben Woodbury after a leadoff single. Brayden Drake bunted Keane home from third with one out to make it 3-0, and Josh Mazzola and Curt Courtwright knocked back-to-back infield singles to load the bases for Chris Playter, who smacked the first triple of his career to the center field wall and cleared the bases. Reliever Derrick Corso walked Woodbury, threw a wild pitch to let Playter score and hit Keane before getting the final out, but not before the Bears scored seven runs on seven hits and sent 12 batters to the plate to build an 8-0 lead.

Central Arkansas broke into the scoring column in the fifth, scoring on a bases loaded walk before starter Aaron Meade got a ground out to finish five innings and qualify for the win. Meade (1-0) was the beneficiary of MSU’s offensive outburst, and cruised through the first three innings with just 23 pitches before finishing the game with five hits and three strikeouts to earn his first career win.

All nine MSU starters had a base hit by the sixth inning and 11 players in all collected a hit. Playter led the charge with a 3-for-6 showing at the plate with four RBIs and three runs. Drake also had three hits, three runs and a pair of RBIs.

Missouri State opened the sixth with singles by Drake and Dallas Hord and a pinch-hit RBI double by Ryan Mantle. Courtwright drove home Drake on a ball that the shortstop booted, putting runners the corners. Playter added another RBI and the right fielder unleashed a wild throw on the play to give the Bears runners on second and third. Woodbury drove in both runners with a single and completed a five-run inning for a 13-1 lead.

UCA scored a run in the seventh and two in the eighth, while Drake hit an RBI triple and Mantle added an RBI double in the ninth to account for the final score.

Brant Combs pitched two innings, Cody Aycock one and Kyle Dyer tossed a scoreless ninth for the Bears.

The series finale is set for Sunday at 1 p.m.