SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Missouri State kicked off its final home Missouri Valley Conference series of the season in style Thursday evening, erasing a two-run deficit against Valparaiso with a four-run, fifth-inning rally en route to a 5-4 win over the Crusaders at Hammons Field.

Brooks Zimmerman provided the go-ahead two-out, two-run single to cap the decisive fifth-inning surge, after Jack Duffy sparked each of MSU's two scoring rallies in the contest. The junior homered in the bottom of the third to negate a Crusader solo shot in the top half of the inning, then singled and scored the tying run two innings later.

Duffy finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, while John Privitera reached base safely in three of his four turns at-bat and plated a runner with a sacrifice bunt in the fifth.

MSU's Logan Wiley (4-5) won his fourth-straight decision, striking out eight Crusaders while scattering three runs on four hits in his 5 2/3 innings. Three Bears relievers combined to limit Valpo (14-33, 6-13 MVC) to one hit over the final 3.1 innings, with Connor Sechler closing it out for his sixth save of the season.
 
The Bears (17-34, 8-11 MVC) logged their sixth win in as many meetings with the Crusaders, despite the visitors mounting a pair of early scoring chances to take the lead on two separate occasions. After Wiley struck out four of the first six Valpo hitters of the game, Damon Jorgensen blasted the first pitch of the third inning into the Bears' bullpen in left to give his club an early 1-0 advantage.

Duffy responded in kind minutes later, launching a 3-2 offering from Valpo starter Jon Tieman (2-9) onto the berm in left-center field, knotting the score with his second homer of the season.

The Crusaders went back on the attack in the fourth, using a pair of extra-base hits to spark a two-run rally. Sam Shaikin started the inning with a double to left, and Chase Dawson followed with a triple that eluded a diving Duffy in right-center to put Valpo back in the lead. Blake Billinger's bouncer to short allowed Dawson to trot home for a 3-1 Crusader edge.

After retiring the Bears in order for the first time in the fourth, Tieman ran into trouble in the fifth by issuing a leadoff walk to Mason Hull—the first of four free passes handed out by VU in the inning. Duffy then laced a one-out offering into right, allowing Hull to advance to third, and Privitera squeezed home the first run of the game with a bunt up the first base line.

Two-out walks to Drew Millas and Ben Whetstone would prove costly to Tieman and the Crusaders, as Dakota Kotowski leveled the contest with a sharp single to deep short. That hit extended the freshman outfielder's career-best hit streak to 12 games, and set up Zimmerman's pivotal laser-shot up the middle that brought in both Millas and Whetstone to hand MSU its first lead of the night.

Valpo chipped away at the deficit in the eighth, using a leadoff double by Jake Kapers to slice the MSU lead in half. But Sechler struck out Billinger to strand the potential tying run, then worked around a one-out walk and a wild pitch in the ninth to lock up the win.

Sechler moved into a tie with Tyler Burgess (2012-14) for fourth place on MSU's all-time saves list with the 14th of his career as a Bear.

Shaikin led Valpo's offense with a 2-for-3 night, while Colin Fields closed out the game with 3 1/3 innings of two-hit, shutout relief for the Crusaders.

The Bears and Crusaders continue their three-game set with another 6:30 p.m. (CDT) contest Friday (May 17) evening at Hammons Field.