SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Returning to Roardunner Field for day three of the UTSA Softball Classic, the Missouri State softball team dropped a 7-6 heartbreaker to Kansas, here Sunday morning.
 
Both teams posted scoreless first innings, but MSU jumped on the board first thanks to a three-run second inning. Back-to-back singles from Steffany Dickerson and Kyana Mason put runners in scoring position for MSU. After a walk juiced the bases, Erika Velasquez Zimmer drew another two-out walk and Mason trotted home safely.
 
The next at-bat, freshman shortstop Daphne Plummer upped the score even more when she drove a two-RBI single into right-center. Hannah Heinrichs and Madison Jones motored around and gave the Bears a 3-0 lead.
 
The Jayhawks responded in the bottom of the frame after an MSU error in left field put a runner in scoring position. Two batters later, KU's Becki Monaghan dropped a two-run homer on Dickerson to cut into the Bears' lead, 3-2.
 
After suffering a strikeout in her first at-bat, senior standout Kaitlin Beason returned to the plate in the top of the third and belted her second home run of the season past the left-center fence. Her solo shot gave the Bears a 4-2 advantage over the Jayhawks and marked the only MSU homer of the weekend.
 
Kansas kept the Bears honest in the bottom of the frame with one more run to keep the game in reach at 4-3.
 
The Bears extended their lead in the top of the fourth after Jones and Velasquez Zimmer recorded back-to-back singles on two outs. Plummer, who already knocked in two RBIs in the second, came up big once again and unleashed a triple past KU's diving right fielder. Both Bears came around to score and the Bears sat comfortable with a 6-3 lead.
 
The Jayhawks scratched across another run in the bottom of the fifth and a leadoff single in the top of the sixth forced MSU to make a pitching change. Moving over to the circle from first base, Beason took over action and recorded a quick two outs after the switch. However, KU's Shelby Gayre unleashed a three-run homer on the Bear defense and MSU fell 7-6 to the Jayhawks.
 
Plummer led the MSU offense with three of MSU's eight hits, as well as four RBIs. Beason (0-3) was dealt the loss as MSU fell to 4-5 on the season.
 
Coming Up Next
The Bears will travel down to Ruston, La., on Feb. 23-25 for the Louisiana Tech University Invitational. For all the latest information on the Missouri State softball team, visit missouristatebears.com or follow @MSUSoftball on Twitter.