SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – After building a six-run lead over the first six innings, Bradley held off a late Missouri State surge to secure a 6-5 victory and a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series sweep of the Bears Sunday afternoon at Hammons Field.

Missouri State (13-30, 4-8 MVC) battled back behind a pair of critical blows off the bat of Dakota Kotowski, scoring a pair of seventh-inning runs before plating three more and putting the potential go-ahead run in scoring position with just one out in the eighth. But BU right-hander Theron Denlinger struck out three of the final five MSU hitters of the game to preserve the slim margin and hand the Bears their seventh-consecutive MVC loss.

The Braves (27-13, 7-5 MVC) built a 6-0 lead, using a two-run double by Andy Shadid in the second and a two-run single by Nick McMurray in the fourth to seize control. Right-hander Sam Lund turned in a strong start on the mound as well, blanking the Bears on just two hits and one walk through the first five frames.

But it would take a strong finish from Denlinger to wrap up the win and just the second three-game Valley sweep of the Bears by BU. The junior worked out of an eighth-inning jam to strand the potential tying and go-ahead runners, then retired the Bears in order in the ninth, striking out three overall without allowing a baserunner in an inning and two-thirds.

Kotowski homered for the ninth time this season to break up the Braves' shutout bid, then added an RBI double and scored in the eighth to help pull the Bears to within one run. The freshman outfielder's solo blast to open the seventh moved him into a third-place tie with three former Bears (Jeremy Eierman, Matt Gardner and Nick Kays) on MSU's rookie home run list.

After Drew Millas and Ben Whetstone sparked the Bears' eighth-inning rally with back-to-back singles, Kotowski's liner in the gap in right-center chased home the first run of the rally. Walks to Logan Geha and Anthony Herron, Jr., forced home a second run, before a passed ball on a Denlinger strikeout of Mason Hull brought Kotowski home to draw MSU to within 6-5.

Denlinger coaxed an inning-ending fly ball to left from Jack Duffy to squash the threat, then fanned the first two hitters of the ninth, before Whetstone's fly to deep right-center was reeled in by Shadid for the final out.

Eli Rawlinson turned in a 2-for-3 afternoon, reaching safely in four of his five plate appearances and driving in a run with a second-inning single to lead the Braves. McMurray added two hits and drove in a pair of runs, while Dan Bolt and Connor O'Brien each added two-hit performances.

In addition to Kotowski's two-hit game, Duffy went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI for MSU. Freshman relievers Nick Schmidt and Peyton Carson combined forces to hold BU to a single run on three hits over 5.0 innings, with Schmidt fanning a career-best six hitters in his 3 2/3 innings.
 
The Bears will attempt to snap their five-game losing streak Tuesday (April 30) when they visit former Valley foe Wichita State for a 6 p.m. contest at Eck Stadium.