Missouri State University
12-6
Southeast Missouri State
7-15
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southeast Missouri | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
| Missouri State | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | X | 10 | 8 | 1 |
Seventh-Inning Rally Lifts Bears Past SEMO
March 20, 2018 | Baseball
The Bears (12-6) took advantage of four straight free passes from SEMO pitching to start their key inning, including back-to-back bases-loaded walks to Jordan Fitzpatrick and John Privitera to force home the first two runs of the rally. Jeremy Eierman delivered a run-scoring single to chase home Ryan Skalnik, and Drew Millas followed suit with an RBI single of his own to make it a four-run cushion. Ben Whetstone capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly to center that plated Eierman with the 10th MSU run of the contest.
Sophomore reliever Nate Witherspoon (1-0) shut the Redhawks down over the final 3.0 innings, allowing just two hits and a walk in logging his first victory of the season. The left-hander cut down the potential go-ahead run in the top of the seventh, nailing Chase Urhahn at the plate on a two-out double steal attempt.
MSU's late surge came after the two clubs traded rallies over the first six innings, as SEMO twice bounced back from two-run innings by the Bears before taking a 5-4 lead on Justin Dirden's leadoff homer in the sixth. The Bears answered in the home half, using a one-out walk to Privitera, a two-out double steal and an Ashton Holyfield wild pitch to push the tying run across the plate.
Eierman kept the game-tying rally alive with a two-out infield single, extending his career-best hit streak to 11 straight games. The junior shortstop finished the day 2-for-4, while Hunter Steinmetz came through with a pair of hits and two walks to drive home two runs and score two more for the Bears.
The Bears opened the scoring with a two-run second inning, as doubles by Whetstone and Jack Duffy sparked the MSU offense against SEMO right-hander Logan Winder. Steinmetz put the home club on top with a scorching two-run double off the wall in right, but Winder avoided further damage by striking out the side for the second straight inning to keep it a 2-0 game.
SEMO responded in the third, getting an RBI single from Chase Urhahn and a sacrifice squeeze by Peyton Faulkner to even the score against MSU starter Austin Knight. MSU used five walks in the home half of the fourth to reclaim a two-run advantage without the benefit of a hit. Landan Ruff's sac fly to left gave the Bears the lead again, before Millas coaxed a two-out walk with the bases full to make it a 4-2 contest.
But the Redhawks (7-15) bounced back once more, riding a two-out, two-run double by Trevor Ezell to knot things up in the fifth, before Dirden led off the following frame with a long home run to right-center to give the visitors their lone lead of the game.
Dirden led the SEMO attack with a 3-for-4 day at the plate, while Alex Nielsen went 2-for-3 and Urhahn recorded two hits as well. Matthew Wade (0-2) sustained the defeat after allowing two runs on two walks in his one-third of an inning.
Up next, the Bears will host Murray State in another 3 p.m. non-conference tilt Wednesday (March 21) at Hammons Field.
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Players Mentioned
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Witherspoon, Nate (1-0)
L: WADE, Matthew (0-2)
Batting:
2B: EZELL, Trevor 1 ; DIRDEN, Justin 1 ; NIELSEN, Alex 1
HR: DIRDEN, Justin 1
RBI: URHAHN, Chase 1 ; FAULKNER, Peyton 1 ; EZELL, Trevor 2 ; DIRDEN, Justin 1
SH: FAULKNER, Peyton 2 ; BASLER, Connor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: FAULKNER, Peyton 1 ; DIRDEN, Justin 1 ; NIELSEN, Alex 2 ; BASLER, Connor 1
CS: URHAHN, Chase 1
HBP: NIELSEN, Alex 1
Batting:
2B: Whetstone, Ben 1 ; Duffy, Jack 1 ; Brown, Matt 1 ; Steinmetz, Hunter 1
RBI: Privitera, John 1 ; Eierman, Jeremy 1 ; Millas, Drew 2 ; Whetstone, Ben 1 ; Steinmetz, Hunter 2 ; Ruff, Landan 1 ; Fitzpatrick, Jordan 1
SF: Whetstone, Ben 1 ; Ruff, Landan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Privitera, John 2 ; Eierman, Jeremy 1 ; Whetstone, Ben 1 ; Duffy, Jack 1 ; Brown, Matt 1 ; Geha, Logan 1 ; Steinmetz, Hunter 2 ; Skalnik, Ryan 1
SB: Privitera, John 1 ; Eierman, Jeremy 1 ; Steinmetz, Hunter 1
