The Missouri State baseball team won its fourth consecutive Missouri Valley Conference series opener Friday afternoon at Hammons Field, topping Evansville by a 10-4 final.

The Bears (20-11, 6-4 MVC) got eight strong innings from Tim Clubb for the fourth straight game and scored five runs in the seventh inning to pull away. Clubb (5-0), struck out five and allowed seven hits and two earned runs.

Evansville (6-25, 1-9) took a 1-0 lead in the first when leadoff man Greg Wallace chopped a single to shortstop and worked his way around the bases to score on a wild pitch.

The Bears evened the score in the second when Chris Playter singled home Kyle Paul with one out. Curt Courtwright followed with a single to load the bases after Ryan Mantle had reached on an error. Ben Woodbury then grounded a slow roller to third baseman Brian Robinson, who hurled a wild throw home to let two more runners in and make the score 3-1 after two frames and give Missouri State the lead for good.

The Aces added an unearned run in the third, but the Bears came back with two bottom of the inning beginning with a sac fly from Matt Welch that scored Ben Carlson. Mantle then took Sean McCarthy’s next pitch over the left field wall for his second home run of the year and a 5-2 MSU lead.

Evansville continued to hang around and got another single and run from Wallace in the sixth to pull within 5-3, but the Bears again responded, this time with Brayden Drake extending his hit streak to 11 games with a double that plated Ben Woodbury. Drake then stole third and scored on a passed ball, Welch singled home Dallas Hord and Playter drove in two more as the Bears added five runs in the seventh to extend their lead to 10-3.

Woodbury, Carlson, Welch, Mantle and Playter all notched two hits apiece as the Bears totaled 14 in the game.

UE’s Derek Melton hit a solo home run in the ninth to account for the final score.

Game two of the series is Saturday at 2 p.m.