SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State closed out its four-game home stand with a 7-0 loss to 14th-ranked Oklahoma State Tuesday afternoon at Hammons Field.

The Bears (4-2) had bases-loaded chances in both the sixth and eighth innings but came up empty each time, stranding nine runners in the contest and striking out 18 times.

The Cowboys (7-0) struck first with a sacrifice fly followed by a two-out, two-run home run in the third inning, and added a solo homer in the fifth for a 4-0 lead.

OSU starter Justin Campbell (1-0) struck out 12 and scattered two hits in six innings, retiring the first 10 MSU batters before Ben Whetstone broke through with a single in the fourth as part of his two-hit day.

Whetstone walked in the sixth between a Jack Duffy single and Dakota Kotowski hit by pitch to load the bases before Campbell escaped with an inning-ending strikeout, and the Bears loaded the bases again in the eighth but were thwarted by a ground out to third base.

The Cowboys tripled and scored in the seventh before a diving catch by Duffy prevented two more runs and added a two-run home run in the eighth to cap the scoring.

Missouri State reached safely nine times despite just three hits, and Ty Buckner (1-1) fanned seven batters in six innings in the start. Matt Russell struck out four in two innings of relief.

The Bears head to Conway, Ark., this weekend for games against Tarleton State at noon Saturday and Central Arkansas at 1 p.m. Sunday. Former Bear Aaron Meade is the head coach at Tarleton, and MSU took two of three from UCA in a Feb. 26-28 series at Hammons Field.