SAN MARCOS, Texas – Missouri State saw its six-game, opening-day win streak come to an end Friday afternoon, as Nevada scored in eight different innings en route to a 16-4 victory over the Bears at the Texas State Tournament at Bobcat Ballpark.
Nevada's potent lineup gashed seven different MSU pitchers for a total of 14 hits — including four home runs — to hand the Bears their most-decisive opening-day setback since a 19-4 loss at Middle Tennessee 10 years ago. The Wolf Pack also took advantage of 13 free passes (five walks and eight hit batsmen) issued by Bears hurlers.
Wolf Pack starting pitcher Ryan Anderson (1-0) handcuffed the MSU lineup over 5.0 innings, allowing just one run on four hits and one walk while striking out six to earn the win. The Bears were held without an extra-base hit until
Logan Geha's one-out double in the eighth sparked a three-run rally, as MSU suffered its first opening-game loss since dropping its 2012 debut against Tennessee Tech.
Kaleb Foster led the UNR offense early, plating the game's first run with a sacrifice fly after Joshua Zamora and Wyatt Tilley delivered back-to-back singles off MSU starter
Logan Wiley (0-1) to open the contest. After Weston Hatten circled the bases on a triple and a Bears miscue in the second, Foster struck again with a two-run homer to right-center to make it a 4-0 game in the third.
After
Sam Faith produced the Bears' first hit with one out in the first, Anderson stifled the Bears through the third, retiring nine straight MSU hitters. In the fourth,
Joey Polak's one-out single to center snapped that string, and successive base hits by Geha and
Jack Duffy put the Bears on the board.
Anderson escaped further trouble by inducing a pop foul to end the fourth, then worked around a pair of hit batsmen in the fifth. He fanned
Drew Millas for the second out, before getting Polak to pop up on the first offering after putting Faith aboard.
MSU would be held scoreless until the eighth, when Geha's double and three walks plated put the Bears back in the scoring column. A balk brought home a second tally, before
John Privitera's double down the left field line completed the three-run rally.
The Wolf Pack broke the game wide open with two runs in the sixth and three more courtesy of a Jaylon McLaughlin home run in the seventh. A Marco Valenzuela double, a hit batsman and a walk to Zamora started the sixth for UNR, which added to its lead on Tilley's double-play grounder and Dillan Shrum's single to left-center that made it a 6-1 margin.
Daniel Perry led off the seventh with a triple to right-center, before the sixth hit-by-pitch handed out by Missouri State pitching put Hatten on base once again. Next, McLaughlin hammered a
Peyton Carson 2-2 offering over the wall in right-center to push the UNR run total into double digits.
UNR put the game on ice with a five-run eighth that was punctuated by a three-run shot to left by No. 9 hitter Keaton Smith. Pinch hitter Tyler Bosetti capped the scoring with the fourth Wolf Pack homer to lead off the ninth.
Hatten, who reached base safely in all six of his plate appearances, went 3-for-3 with a triple, a double and three runs scored. Smith and Zamora added two-hit performances, while McLaughlin drove home four runs for the Wolf Pack.
Privitera paced the Bears with a 2-for-3 effort that included an eighth-inning RBI double, while Geha reached safely in each of his final three trips to the plate, finishing with two hits as well. Duffy added an RBI, two walks and a run scored.
Wiley allowed five runs on six hits in his 4.1 innings, while
Forrest Barnes and
Nate Witherspoon turned in scoreless relief appearances for MSU.
Up next, the Bears will take on Utah in another Noon contest Saturday at Bobcat Ballpark.
