SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Logan Wiley turned in a complete-game mound effort to lift Missouri State to its second-consecutive victory over New Orleans with a 6-1 decision Friday evening at Hammons Field.
Wiley (2-5) matched a career high with nine strikeouts, while scattering four hits and four walks and allowing just a third-inning unearned run to the Privateers (18-21). The junior right-hander retired the first seven hitters of the game in order, then set down eight in a row from the sixth through the eighth innings en route to his first complete game as a Bear.
The top four hitters in the MSU batting order inflicted most of the damage on UNO, as
Ben Whetstone,
John Privitera and
Jack Duffy combined to drive in five runs, while
Drew Millas added a pair of hits. Whetstone delivered his fifth multi-RBI performance in the last seven games and extended his personal hit streak to a Bears season-best 12-straight games.
With the win, the Bears (13-25) secured their second-straight home series victory and their third overall in the last four weeks.
After coming up empty in the first inning despite engineering a two-out threat, the Bears made sure to cash in the following frame, grabbing the lead on Privitera's two-run single.
Logan Geha set the wheels in motion for MSU with a leadoff bunt single, before UNO starter Chris Turpin plunked
Collin Clayton to put a pair of runners on with nobody out. Duffy followed with a base hit to load the bases, and Privitera drove the first pitch he saw into right to bring in both Geha and Clayton for a 2-0 MSU lead.
UNO responded in the top of the third, using a one-out hit by Antonio Gauthier to set up its first scoring chance of the game. A rare error by Whetstone—MSU's career fielding percentage leader—on a pickoff attempt at first moved the runner into scoring position, and Darren Willis brought the man home with a base hit through the right side of the Bears infield to slice the margin in half.
From there, both starting hurlers settled into a groove, with Wiley working around a one-out walk in the fourth and another two-one, one-out jam in the sixth. Turpin allowed leadoff baserunners in the third and fifth innings, but escaped trouble each time by retiring the next three MSU hitters in succession.
But he would not be as fortunate in the sixth when Clayton's one-out hit sparked another MSU rally. Privitera coaxed a two-out walk to keep the inning alive and set up Whetstone's double that fell in shallow left-center to chase home a pair of Bears baserunners.
MSU took advantage of four walks to plate two more runs in the seventh, scoring on a Duffy sacrifice liner to right and a two-out wild pitch to extend its lead to five runs.
Wiley cruised to the ninth, retiring eight in a row after putting two on with one out in the sixth. He struck out Luther Woullard for the final out of the sixth, then dispatched six more UNO hitters in order over the next two frames, including four straight strikeouts.
The Privateers threatened one last time in the ninth, putting their first two hitters aboard. But Gaige Howard was ruled to have interfered at the second base bag on a potential double-play chopper back to the mound, giving Wiley and the Bears a key double play—their second of the game and sixth of the series. Wiley finished the job with a punchout of Tresten Kennard, matching his previous career-best strikeout effort from last April 8 against Evansville.
Turpin (4-3) suffered the mound setback for UNO after allowing four runs on nine hits in his 6.0 innings.
The Bears and Privateers conclude their three-game set with a 2 p.m. (CDT) contest Saturday (April 20).
