CONWAY, Ark. – Missouri State broke out of its offensive funk with a four-run, sixth-inning rally to pull out a 5-2 victory over Central Arkansas and a doubleheader split Sunday evening at Bear Stadium. After being held to two hits in a 1-0 setback in the opening game of the abbreviated series, MSU erased an early 1-0 deficit in the nightcap to improve to 4-2 on the year.

Dylan Coleman starred in game one, posting the second 13-strikeout effort of his MSU career over 8.0 shutout innings, before Hunter Steinmetz went 2-for-4 with the go-ahead RBI double and a stolen base in the second contest. Five MSU hurlers combined to hold the Bears to two runs (one earned) on six hits, stranding 14 UCA baserunners, in the nightcap.

Game 1 – Central Arkansas Missouri State 0 (10 inn.)
Coleman matched a career high with 13 strikeouts over 8.0 scoreless innings, but the Bears' offense managed just two singles in sustaining their second shutout defeat in five games this season. It would take nearly a full 10 innings for the home club to scratch out the game's only run, as Hunter Strong's one-out single past a drawn-in Missouri State infield plated Josh Somdecerff to hand UCA the 1-0 victory. 

After the two teams combined for just four hits over the first nine innings, Somdecerff started the decisive rally with a line-drive single to center. A Missouri State throwing error on Eddie Sanchez's sacrifice bunt proved critical, as both baserunners moved into scoring position with nobody out. A safety squeeze resulted in the first out of the inning, before an intentional pass to Brett D'Amico loaded the bases. Strong then lined a 1-0 offering from Matt Russell just beyond the reach of shortstop Jeremy Eierman for the game winner.

Coleman held the UCA lineup to two singles in a personal-best 8.0 innings, matching his 13-strikeout effort vs. Wichita State at the 2017 MVC Championship for his top single-game performance as a Bear. The junior right-hander allowed a leadoff single to Sanchez in the third, then struck out the next five Bears in succession to start a stretch in which he retired 12 of 13 UCA hitters. The home team would put only three more runners on base against Coleman, before Logan Wiley (1-1) took over to start the ninth.

UCA starter Tyler Gray was equally as dominant, holding MSU hitless over the first six frames and allowing just two singles altogether in his 7.0 scoreless innings. The senior faced the minimum through the first three innings, then worked around a walk and a hit batsman in the fourth.

Ben Whetstone delivered a leadoff single in the seventh for MSU's first hit of the day, but Gray promptly rolled a 6-3 double play before fanning Brooks Zimmerman for his ninth and final strikeout of the game.

In all, MSU moved just three baserunners into scoring position, as Gray and reliever Mark Moyer (1-1) permitted only five baserunners for the game.

Game 2 – Missouri State 5, Central Arkansas 2
MSU's four-run sixth was the difference, as the first six Bears reached base safely to help turn a one-run deficit into a 4-1 advantage for the visitors. Steinmetz spearheaded the MSU charge, going 2-for-4 with a run scored and his third steal of the season, while Drew Millas added a key two-run single to cap the decisive rally. 

Matt Brown started the rally with a bloop double that fell in between three UCA defenders in shallow left field, and Privitera lined a run-scoring single to right to knot the score moments later. Steinmetz then launched a towering drive that caromed off the centerfield fence to hand MSU a lead it would not relinquish. UCA starter Cody Davenport (0-1) issued back-to-back walks to Eierman and Whetstone, setting up Millas's liner to right that made it a three-run game.

Jack Duffy added a key insurance run with a ninth-inning triple to right, chasing home Landan Ruff from first to stretch the MSU lead to 5-1.

MSU starter Ty Buckner limited UCA to a single unearned run on four hits in 4 2/3 innings, before Davis Schwab (1-0) turned in a strong Bears debut, striking out two in a scoreless inning-and-a-third to earn the victory.

Connor Sechler registered 2.0 scoreless innings on one-hit relief, before Matt Russell and Wiley combined to work the ninth. Wiley froze pinch hitter Justin McCarty with a called third strike to seal the victory and his first save as a Bear.

Up next, the Bears will travel to Tulsa for a Tuesday (Feb. 27) afternoon non-conference game against Oral Roberts. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at J.L. Johnson Stadium.