The Missouri State baseball team fought back from a 3-0 deficit after six innings to gain a 5-3 lead entering the ninth, only to lose it again, come through in the bottom of the frame and suffer a heartbreaking 7-6 defeat in 10 innings at the hands of Arkansas Tuesday night at Hammons Field.
Arkansas (16-11) won the game without the aid of a hit in the 10th. Chase Leavitt drew a leadoff walk, was sacrificed to second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored the winning run on a sac fly from Ben Tschepikow. Matt Frevert (3-1) took the loss with a rare off night, yielding four runs in the final two innings.
Missouri State’s (17-8) offense was stagnant through six innings but broke through in the seventh with an RBI double by Ryan Mantle and a two-run single from Nolan Keane to tie the score at 3-3.
The Bears carried that momentum into the eighth, getting a pair of defensive gems to hold the Razorbacks scoreless and another Mantle double to take a 5-3 lead.
Arkansas then turned two ninth-inning walks into a pair of runs when Andy Wilkins slapped a two-out, two-run single to left to knot the score at 5-5. Arkansas added another single and another walk to load the bases before Brett Eibner dribbled a single to second to drive in the go-ahead run.
Not to be outdone, MSU’s Matt Welch led off the bottom of the ninth with a single and was sacrificed to second before UA’s Shaun Seibert struck out Keane to get Arkansas one out from victory. Brayden Drake came through for the Bears with an RBI single to end a nine-pitch at bat and tie the score again at 6-6. Drake stole second and third to put himself 90-feet away from home, but Seibert struck out Dallas Hord to send it to extra innings.
Again facing a one-run deficit, Ben Carlson opened the bottom of the 10th with an infield single and moved to scoring position with no outs after a passed ball. He advanced to third base on a ground out, and Mantle struck out but reached first because the pitch skipped away from the catcher. Seibert then struck out Kyle Paul and Welch to end the game.
The Bears return to Missouri Valley Conference play this weekend with a three-game set at Wichita State. First pitch Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m.
