SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Missouri State rode seven dominant innings from Forrest Barnes and balance offensive attack to a series-clinching 4-1 victory over Maine Sunday afternoon at Hammons Field.
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In his first start of the 2020 season, Barnes (3-0) allowed just one run on two hits—and four total baserunners—in his 7.0 innings to notch his team-leading third mound win. The sophomore right-hander dispatched the first 10 Maine hitters of the game in succession and finished the afternoon five strikeouts.
From there, Trey Ziegenbein worked a hitless eighth inning, before Hayden Juenger struck out two of the three Black Bears he faced in a perfect ninth to secure his fourth save.
After struggling to capitalize on several scoring opportunities in their 4-2 loss on Saturday, the Bears (8-7) made the most of their offensive chances in the rubber match of the series. MSU answered a fourth-inning two-out, RBI single by Alex McKenney with a tally of its own in the home half of the inning, taking advantage of two critical Black Bear errors. Ben Whetstone's liner to deep left was misplayed for a two-base miscue to set up the rally, and a two-out chopper to short off the bat of Mason Hull also went for an error to bring in the equalizing run.
MSU received a spark from the bottom third of its lineup to pull ahead with a two-run rally in the fifth. Greg Ziegler led off the frame with the first of his two hits on the game, then swiped second to set the stage for Jack Duffy's double to left-center that put the Bears on top for good. Drake Baldwin delivered his second single of the game to move Duffy to third, and Whetstone brought the runner home with a sacrifice fly to left for a 3-1 MSU advantage.
Meanwhile, Barnes settled into another groove after allowing three of his four baserunners on the day in the fourth inning. After plunking Jake Rainess to open the fifth, Barnes retired the next nine Black Bears he faced to complete his afternoon.
In the seventh, the Bears employed two of their season-high six doubles on the day to extend their lead. Whetstone's blast off the wall in left started the threat and Logan Geha's gap shot in left-center completed it for a three-run margin.
The duo of John Privitera and Ziegler combined to go 4-for-8, while Whetstone drove in a run and scored two more for the Bears. As a team, MSU recorded six doubles in a game for the first time since April 10, 2010 at Evansville.
Matthew Pushard (0-3) shouldered the loss for Maine (1-12), despite allowing just two earned runs (three total) on four hits in his 4.2 innings.
Up next, the Bears continue their home stand with a 3 p.m. non-conference game against Oral Roberts at Hammons on Tuesday (March 10).
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