BEAUMONT, Texas – Powered by a balanced offensive attack and a pitching staff that limited the opposition to four combined runs, Missouri State kicked off the 2018 season with victories over Texas Southern and Lamar on the opening day of play at the Cardinal Classic at Vincent-Beck Stadium.

MSU (2-0), which pounded out 22 hits in the twin bill sweep, rallied from an early one-run deficit against Texas Southern, scoring in five different innings and using a shutdown performance from its bullpen to close out an 8-2 win. In the nightcap, the Bears erupted for five runs in the second, and rode a relentless offensive attack that saw all nine position starters record a hit and seven different players drive in at least one run in an 11-2 decision over the Cardinals.

Game 1 – Missouri State 8, Texas Southern 2
Logan Geha's two-run single kick-started the Bears' offense in the top half of the second inning, and freshman pitchers Connor Sechler and Matt Russell made the lead stand with 5.1 sterling innings of relief. The victory marked the sixth-straight opening day win for the Bears in their first-ever meeting with the Tigers. 

Jack Duffy went 2-for-4 with his first career home run and a pair of runs scored, while Drew Millas reached base safely in four of his five trips to the plate to lead the MSU offense. Sechler picked up the victory in his Bears debut, scattering three hits while striking out four over his 4 1/3 innings.

MSU took advantage of three straight walks from TSU starter Mason Furlong to mount its first rally of the new season, setting the table for Geha, who laced the first pitch he saw into left to drive in Jordan Zimmerman and Millas for a 2-1 Bears lead. 

Bears starting pitcher Austin Knight fought through some early control issues to limit the Tigers to a single run through his 3 2/3 innings, stranding multiple baserunners in each of the first three frames. TSU leadoff man Kamren Dukes, who went 3-for-5 on the day, led off the first with a base hit, before coming around on Jose Camacho's two-out hit to hand the Tigers the early 1-0 lead.

Knight worked his way out of trouble with an inning-ending come-backer to leave two aboard in the first, then struck out Christian Sanchez to strand the bases loaded in the second. After the first two Tigers reached base in the third, the Bears turned a 5-4-3 double play to thwart another TSU threat and maintain their one-run lead.

With one out in the top of the fifth, Duffy launched an opposite-field shot that just cleared the wall in left to push the MSU lead to 3-1. 

TSU responded in the sixth, using another leadoff hit by Dukes—this one a double to left—to spark another rally. Victor Cruz came through with another two-out, run-scoring hit to cut the Tiger deficit to one run, but Sechler extinguished the threat by retiring Camacho on a pop foul.

The MSU freshman right-hander set down the final seven hitters he faced, working back-to-back 1-2-3 innings before handing the ball off the fellow rookie Matt Russell in the ninth. In the meantime, the Bears' offense clicked in the late innings, scoring single runs in the seventh and eighth frames, before breaking the game open with a three-run rally in the ninth. Millas drove home Jeremy Eierman with a one-out single in the eighth, and Ben Whetstone punctuated the surge with a two-run scorcher off the first-base bag in the ninth.

Russell followed Sechler's strong MSU debut with a scoreless ninth, striking out the first two Tigers he faced before yielding a walk and a base hit. In all, the rookie tandem permitted just one run on four hits, while fanning six and walking just one batter.

Game 2 – Missouri State 11, Lamar 2
MSU's offense proved too much for the Cardinals to handle in game two, as the Bears took advantage of four second-inning walks to seize control of the contest with a five-run rally. Starting pitcher Dylan Coleman shuttered the LU offense, permitting just one run on three hits in six innings to give the Bears their sixth-straight 2-0 start to a season.

Brooks Zimmerman's long fly ball hooked just inside the left field foul pole to lead off the decisive second inning, before LU starting pitcher Jace Campbell worked himself into a critical jam. After striking out Whetstone, Campbell issued a walk to Geha, and Duffy delivered a base hit to set the table for the MSU offense. The Bears would not need a hit to cash in, as three consecutive free passes, plus a wild pitch and LU throwing error gave MSU all the run support it would need. John Privitera and Hunter Steinmetz coaxed back-to-back, bases-loaded walks, and a two-out delivery sailed over the head of catcher Chad McKinney, who then threw wildly toward home plate, allowing a fifth Bears run to score in the inning.

After allowing a walk and consecutive singles to Mike Leal and McKinney to start the home half of the second, Coleman rolled a 6-4-3 double play grounder to reverse course. The junior right-hander allowed just a single run in the inning, then shut down the Cardinal lineup over his final four innings of work. Coleman gave up just one more hit—a one-out single to Chase Kemp in the sixth—and recorded five of his seven strikeouts from the third through the sixth frames.

Campbell also settled into a groove for the Cardinals, combining with reliever Garrett Walker to hold the Bears scoreless until the seventh inning, when Millas came through with a two-out, two-run single to stretch the lead to 7-1.

Geha once again played the role of catalyst in the eighth, starting a four-run rally with a base hit, then taking second on a wild pitch and moving to third on Duffy's fly ball to center. Matt Brown would follow with his second consecutive single to plate the run, before Eierman belted a two-run double down the third-base line and freshman Sam Faith blasted a run-scoring double off the left field wall on his first collegiate swing of the bat to cap the scoring.

In his first appearance as a Bear, Logan Wiley provided 2.0 innings of scoreless relief to help seal the outcome. Zimmerman led MSU's 14-hit attack with a 3-for-4 night, while Brown (2-for-3) logged his first two-hit game as a Bear.

The Bears continue their stay at the Cardinal Classic with a 10 a.m. game Saturday against Lamar.