March 6, 2015 Box Score
EMERSON, Ga. - Spencer Johnson's sixth-inning grand slam erased a one-run deficit and sparked a late offensive explosion for Missouri State, which scored 12 runs over its final three turns at bat to pull away for a 14-4 victory in the second game of its doubleheader with Wright State Friday afternoon at PG Park South.
After falling behind 3-0 and still trailing by a run in the home half of the sixth, the Bears rode Johnson's first career slam to a five-run rally, then used two additional long balls over the next two innings to put the game out of reach. Justin Paulsen, who homered for the first time as a Bear in MSU's game one loss to WSU, belted his second round-tripper of the afternoon in the seventh inning to extend the MSU lead to 8-3, and Eduardo Castro launched an eighth-inning grand slam as part of a six-run frame.
The dual grand slams for Missouri State marked the fifth multi-slam game in program history, and the Bears' first since April 10, 1999, when Brian Fuess and Micah Holst went deep with the bases loaded against Indiana State.
In addition to Johnson's 2-for-4 effort at the plate, the Bears received a lift from Paulsen (2-for-3), who reached base safely in four of his five trips to the plate, scoring twice and driving in a pair of runs to pace MSU's 12-hit attack.
MSU (7-4) mounted its comeback after the Raiders (6-5) took advantage of four first-inning walks by Bears' starter Matt Hall to take a 1-0 lead, then stretched their advantage to three runs in the third on Ryan Fucci's two-run homer to right.
WSU starter Trevor Swaney tamed the Bears over the first four innings, retiring the first 11 MSU hitters of the game before Tate Matheny's two-out bloop to right fell in for a double. Johnson sparked a fifth-inning threat with a one-out single, but it would be a two-out throwing error that opened the door for the first Bears run of the game. Jake Burger's grounder to short should have been the final out, but Mitch Roman's throw was off the mark, allowing Johnson time to score before Dylan Becker sliced the deficit to 3-2 with an RBI single.
It would be Paulsen's turn to ignite the Bears offense in the sixth, lining a one-out single to center to set the stage the key rally of the game. Next, Castro coaxed a walk from Swaney and Blake Graham scratched out an infield hit to load the bases for Johnson, who drove a 1-0 pitch over the fence in right-center field to put MSU on top for good.
Joey Hawkins extended the MSU lead to 7-3 with a well-placed hit to left that brought in Alex Jefferson, who singled and recorded the first of his two steals in the game to reach second moments earlier. Paulsen kept the pressure on Wright State in the seventh, greeting reliever Anderson Hasting with a home run to right that made it a five-run game.
After the Raiders briefly cut the lead to 8-4 on Jason DeFevers' two-out double in the top of the eighth, the Bears eliminated any doubt about the outcome with another offensive explosion in the home half. A walk to Jefferson and a hit batsman got the ball rolling for MSU, which saw five consecutive batters reach safely for the second time in three innings. Hawkins lofted another run-scoring hit--this one to right-center--before Paulsen drew a bases-loaded walk and Castro unloaded on a Cody Simon pitch for his first homer as a Bear that made it a 10-run affair.
The comeback win was made possible by the relief work of Sam Perez (1-1), who struck out four Raiders and limited WSU to a single run on four hits over 4.0 frames. Freshman Nick Brown also turned in an impressive outing, retiring the Raiders in order with a pair of strikeouts in his first career appearance to close out the win.
Hawkins (2-for-5) played a key role in the late burst for MSU, driving in two runs, while Jefferson established career highs with two hits and two steals. Despite an early exit after 4.0 innings, Hall struck out seven WSU hitters and allowed just three runs, escaping a key fourth-inning jam with three consecutive K's after the Raiders put runners at second and third with nobody out.
The game two victory for Missouri State helped heal the heartbreak of a 3-2 loss in 10 innings the first game of Friday's twin bill. MSU saw a 2-1 seventh-inning lead evaporate after an errant pitch brought in the tying run and an error allowed the winning tally to cross the plate in the bottom of the 10th.
The game one setback spoiled a standout effort by MSU starter Jon Harris, who struck out a career-high 13 hitters while holding the Raiders to two runs on four hits over his 7.0 innings. The junior right-hander fanned two hitters in four consecutive innings and issued just two walks on the day.
Wright State broke on top in the home half of the second, using a Michael Timm two-out single to plate the game's first run. Sean Murphy's one-out base hit to center got the ball rolling, and Matt Morrow moved the runner into scoring position with a bouncer to the right side. Timm followed with a ground-ball single to right to make it a 1-0 game.
The Bears would not waste any time in answering, capitalizing on a Burger double and a two-out RBI single by Matheny to even the score in the third.
But WSU starter Jesse Scholtens settled into a groove, matching Harris's effort by retiring 10 of 11 MSU hitters to finish his afternoon. The lone Bear to reach over that stretch was Paulsen, who delivered his first home run as a Bear with two out in the sixth to put MSU in front, 2-1.
The Raiders took advantage of a two-out wild pitch by Harris that allowed Morrow to score the equalizing run in the bottom of the seventh. WSU's bullpen duo of Logan Blair and E.J. Trapino (2-0) combined to shut down the Bears' offense from that point, helping hold MSU to a pair of singles over the final four innings of the game.
A leadoff single by Brad Macciocchi against Jordan Knutson (0-1) started the decisive rally for WSU in the 10th. Knutson fanned Mark Fowler for the first out, and Roman's base hit put runners at first and second before and one-hopper to first appeared to provide a potential escape from the jam. Paulsen attempted to start a potential inning-ending 3-6-3 double play, but the sophomore first baseman's throw to second was wide of the bag and skipped into left field to allow Macciocchi to come home with the game-winner.
Paulsen's 2-for-4 performance was the lone bright spot for MSU's offense in the opener, while Murphy and Roman each logged two-hit games for WSU.
Up next, the two clubs close their three-game series with a single 8 a.m. (Central) game Saturday (March 7) at PG Park South.
