Wichita State used a pair of three-run homers in the sixth to turn a 3-2 lead into a 9-2 advantage and held off the Missouri State charge for a 9-5 Missouri Valley Conference win Sunday afternoon at Eck Stadium in Wichita, Kan.
Missouri State fell to 18-10 overall and 5-4 in the MVC with the loss, while WSU improved to 24-4 and 5-1 in the league.
WSU second baseman Josh Workman put the Shockers on the scoreboard with a two-run homer in the second, a fly ball that got up in the gusting wind and carried over the right field wall, and added an RBI on a ground out in the third to give the home team a 3-0 lead through three frames.
Wichita State starter Anthony Capra (5-0) took a no-hitter into the fifth before Ben Carlson broke it up with a one-out single. The next inning, Ben Woodbury became the first Bear to reach second with a one-out double and stole third two pitches later. Chris Playter followed with a grounder to shortstop that Dusty Coleman threw home when Woodbury broke for the plate. The MSU senior turned around and scampered back to third safely while Playter ended up on first. Nolan Keane then drove in Woodbury with a sacrifice fly, and Brayden Drake tripled off the right field wall to pull the Bears within a run at 3-2.
The Shockers came right back in the bottom of the sixth, starting with a three-run homer from Kenny Williams, Jr., another wind-aided shot to right. The hit ended starter Aaron Meade’s (4-2) day after 5.1 innings, six strikeouts and seven runs after Brant Combs allowed an inherited runner to score as part of Conor Gillaspie’s three-run homer that finished a six-run frame for the Shockers.
The three-run homer trend continued in the next half inning when Christian Overstreet crushed a pinch-hit home run, the first of his career, down the right field line to bring home Carlson and Kyle Paul. The Bears loaded the bases with two walks and a single but left all three on to trail 9-5.
WSU reliever Andy Womack quieted the Bears in the seventh and eighth innings, but walked Playter and Keane with one out in the ninth before retiring the final two hitters.
The Bears open a five-game homestand Tuesday against Saint Louis at 7 p.m.
