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SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State mounted five hits in the fifth and sixth innings to get within one run of visiting Evansville here Saturday, but the Purple Aces held on down the stretch for a 5-4 victory to secure their first series sweep of the Bears since 2000.
 
Evansville (16-25, 7-12 MVC) secured wins of 3-1 and 11-7 on Friday to earn its first Missouri Valley Conference series victory of the year. The Aces picked up that same torrid pace on Saturday against the Bears, posting a 4-0 lead in the second inning after a two-out grand slam from leadoff hitter Eryn Gould – her ninth home run of the year and second of the series.
 
The Bears (26-17, 11-8 MVC) got five quality innings of relief from Madison Hunsaker from there. The left-handed sophomore struck out a season-high six batters while surrendering just one run to keep the home squad in the game.
 
Offensively, Missouri State tallied 10 hits on the day – its most since April 1 – including three from freshman Payton Minnis.
 
"I thought we showed a lot of resiliency and a lot of grit after two losses yesterday and falling behind today," said MSU head coach Holly Hesse. "I thought we fought the whole time, and I'm proud of the effort they gave. Rocket (Hunsaker) really shut them down through five innings, and I thought Payton (Minnis) was a huge spark for us all day. We just have to keep moving forward."
 
The Bears began chipping away at their deficit in the third, capitalizing on a leadoff hit by Minnis who was 4-for-7 in the series. Kyana Mason sacrificed Minnis into scoring position before Daphne Plummer brought her home on an RBI single to center to make it 4-1.
 
Evansville got the run back in the fourth inning on a fortuitous call on a 3-2 pitch to Lindsey Renneisen. The walk to the Evansville shortstop with the bases loaded forced home the Aces' decisive fifth run of the game and was the only blemish on an otherwise stellar relief effort by Hunsaker.
 
The Bears then rallied for three runs off UE starter Emily Lockhart (8-12) in the fifth to get back within 5-4. A two-run double from Plummer scored Minnis and Darby Joerling who started the MSU outburst with singles. Hunsaker then helped her own cause with an RBI single to left to make it a one-run game
 
Hunsaker continued to dominate in the circle in the sixth and seventh innings, working around a leadoff hit by Toni Galas in the sixth before retiring six in a row – three by strikeout – to end the game.
 
Evansville brought in Izzy Vetter for the final 2.1 innings. Vetter, who issued nine walks in game two on Friday, allowed a one-out double to Minnis in the sixth, but did not waiver in the clutch to earn her first save of the year.
 
The Bears also got multiple hits from Joerling, Plummer and Hunsaker, but MSU finished just 4-for-13 with runners in scoring position for the game.
 
Galas led all Evansville hitters with a 3-for-3 day at the plate.
 
Missouri State will travel to UMKC on Tuesday at 3 p.m. for its final non-conference game of the year before returning to Killian Stadium next Saturday and Sunday for a three-game set against first-place Drake.