NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Missouri State's early-season offensive swoon continued Saturday, as three Lipscomb hurlers combined on a four-hit, 4-0 shutout of the Bears at Ken Dugan Field.
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Left-hander Max Habegger (1-0) tossed 5.0 innings to start the afternoon, holding the Bears (3-3) to two hits while posting five strikeouts. Freshman right-hander Patrick Williams followed with 3.0 innings of one-hit relief, before Wyatt Folsom capped the afternoon with a scoreless ninth to hand MSU its second-consecutive shutout defeat.
With victories in each of its first five games of the season, Lipscomb (6-0) rode its early season momentum to an early lead against the Bears. The Bisons grabbed a 1-0 lead on their first at-bat of the day, thanks to a solo shot to left from leadoff man Haddon Adams, then added an unearned run in the third after a two-base throwing error set up a scoring opportunity, which Malik Williams converted into a run with his two-out single off Bears starter Hayden Minton.
After completing his second 1-2-3 inning of the day in the fourth, Minton lost a 10-pitch battle with Bisons shortstop Brian Moore, who coaxed a walk to start the bottom of the fifth. Two batters later, Maddux Houghton doubled the Lipscomb advantage with a towering two-run blast down the left-field line for a two-run homer.
From there, the Lipscomb bullpen would extend the Bears' scoreless drought to 23 straight innings, dating back to the seventh inning of Thursday's 4-1 victory at Austin Peay. Williams allowed a leadoff double to Dakota Kotowski to start the MSU sixth, but surrendered just one additional baserunner over his three-inning stint. Folsom gave up a Joey Polak single in the ninth, but nothing more.
The Bears went hitless in 13 at-bats with runners on base, including an 0-for-7 showing with runners in scoring position. MSU loaded the bases in the first, only to have a pop foul and a fly ball to left derail the threat. A hit batsman, a walk and a John Privitera steal of third combined to put runners on the corners with one out in the second, but home plate umpire Jason Benjamin ruled that MSU leadoff man Greg Ziegler interfered with catcher Jarrett O'Leary on a Logan Geha steal attempt while swinging and missing at a third strike, resulting in the second and third outs of the inning.
MSU would fail to put more than one man on base in any of the final seven innings.
Minton (1-1) suffered the loss for MSU, allowing all four Lipscomb runs (three earned) on four hits, while fanning four Bisons hitters. Barnes worked two perfect frames, before Auer made his MSU mound debut with a 1-2-3 eighth inning.
The Bears will try to right the ship with a 1 p.m. contest at Middle Tennessee Sunday in Murfreesboro.
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