SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Three Maine pitchers combined to hold the Missouri State offense in check Saturday, as the Black Bears built a four-run lead and held on for a 4-2 victory to notch their first victory of the 2020 season at Hammons Field.
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After Trevor Delaite struck out six in blanking the Bears on one hit over the first four innings, Andrew Ruggiero (1-1) permitted just one run on one hit over the next three frames as the duo combined to retire 12-straight MSU hitters from the third through the seventh innings.
Cody Pasic's two-out, two-run single off MSU starter Hayden Minton (1-2) opened the scoring in the top of the fourth and proved to be the game's key hit. The Maine catcher also coaxed a bases-loaded walk to force home another run as part of the Black Bears' two-run sixth. In all, the Black Bears' leadoff man reached base safely in each of his final three trips to the plate and drove in three of Maine's four runs on the day.
The Black Bears (1-11) also received a boost from the bottom portion of their lineup, as their No. 8 and No. 9 hitters—Connor Goodman and Kevin Doody—combined to go 4-for-7 with a pair of runs scored. Doody finished 3-for-4 to lead Maine's nine-hit attack.
Missouri State's on-again, off-again offense struggled to cash in on several early scoring opportunities against Delaite before the senior left-hander ended his day by retiring four hitters in a row. After Grant Wood drew a one-out walk in the first, Delaite promptly induced back-to-back ground balls to first to get out of the inning. A walk to Mason Hull and a Logan Geha double sparked another threat in the second, but Delaite fanned John Privitera and retired Mason Auer on a pop-up to first to keep the Bears scoreless.
Ruggiero faced little resistance from the Bears after taking over mound duties in the fifth. The right-hander dispatched the first eight Bears he faced until Geha's two-out solo shot to left put the Bears on the board in the seventh.
Missouri State mounted another rally in the eighth, using base hits by Wood and Ben Whetstone to set up Dakota Kotowski's two-out, RBI double down the left-field line.
But Matt Geoffrion got Hull to look at a called third strike for the final out, stranding the potential tying run at second base. Geoffrion then worked around a leadoff single by Geha in the ninth, setting down the next three Bears in succession to wrap up the win.
Geha paced MSU's offense with his second-straight three-hit game, while Peyton Carson and Auer combined for 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.
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The two clubs will square off in the rubber match of the series Sunday at Noon (CDT).
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