SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Missouri State sophomore right-hander Clay Murphy is this week’s Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week, the league announced Sunday afternoon.

    In the MVC’s only game against a ranked team last week, Murphy fired eight shutout innings, struck out 10 and allowed just three hits to 22nd-ranked Oklahoma State. The Cowboys entered the contest batting .299 as a team, but the Wolf Lake, Ill., native took a no-hitter into the fifth and did not allow a runner beyond first base until the seventh.

    Murphy’s 10 strikeouts combined with 11 ground ball outs accounted for 21 of his 24 outs in the game. Murphy had a strikeout in six of eight innings and multiple Ks three times while leaving the game with a 3-0 lead after the eighth. The Bears won 4-3 after the bullpen allowed three runs in the ninth.

    Murphy was also the league pitcher of the week on April 26 of last season.

    The Bears (31-21, 11-9 MVC) open play at the State Farm MVC Tournament Tuesday at 4 p.m. against fifth-seeded Southern Illinois (22-32, 11-10) at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb. The fourth-seeded Bears beat SIU 11-4, lost 11-1 and won 5-4 in the season series, April 16 and 17 in Carbondale, Ill.