CARBONDALE, Ill. – Steffany Dickerson and Madison Hunsaker delivered two impressive pitching performances and were boosted by three Bears home runs as Missouri State swept Missouri Valley Conference foe Southern Illinois here Wednesday afternoon.
 
The Bears (13-9) shut out the Salukis (20-5), 4-0 in game one before going on to take the finale as well, 4-1.  It marked the second time this season MSU has defeated an opponent who was earning votes in the NFCA top-25 poll after knocking off No. 23 Iowa State on March 7.
 
"We had great execution in all facets of the game today," said head coach Holly Hesse.  "Our pitching and defense were terrific and our bats came through with some big hits.  The early run support was key and gave our pitchers a boost before they ever entered the circle.  From there Steff (Dickerson) and Rocket (Hunsaker) were lights out, mixing pitches and using their defense to get outs.  To sweep the top team in the conference on the road is huge and proves what we are capable of doing."
 
Game 1
Bears 4, SIU 0
A two-run home run from Alex Boze in the top of the first was all the scoring starter Dickerson would need to lead the Bears to their fifth shutout victory of the season.
 
Dickerson (5-5) tossed seven scoreless innings, fanned four batters and kept an SIU lineup that leads the league in runs scored off the scoreboard.  She outmatched Salukis ace Sarah Harness (10-2) who was tagged for just her second loss of the season after giving up all four runs.
 
Boze continued her recent tear at the plate by belting a two-run shot over the fence to spring MSU out to an early 2-0 lead.  It was the junior slugger's third round-tripper in the past four games after she hit a go-ahead home run at Saint Louis on March 16 and a game-tying drive against Northern Iowa on Sunday (March 21).
 
Tess Weakly led off the next frame with the Bears' second home run in as many innings as she notched her first dinger of the year.
 
The Salukis had their chances in the third and fourth, loading the bases with a hit, a walk and a hit by pitch in each inning.  But, credit to Dickerson who utilized the defense behind her and an inning-ending strikeout to strand six of SIU's 11 runners in the game.   
 
MSU added a run to its advantage in the top of the sixth on Weakly's second RBI of the game.  Hunsaker started the inning with a single that stayed fair down the right field line and a hit by pitch from Boze on the following at-bat put Bears at first and second.  Pinch-runner Payton Minnis crossed home plate on Weakly's run-scoring hit to cap MSU's hard-hitting opening game.
 
It was the fourth multi-hit game of the year for Weakly and the fourth multi-RBI game for Boze. 
 
Game 2
Bears 4, SIU 1
Game two featured a resemblance of the opener for the Bears with another electric performance in the circle and a first-inning home run to secure the sweep with a 4-1 win.
 
This time it was Hunsaker (5-2) who delivered the complete-game effort as the senior lefty went the distance for the second time in 2021 while striking out four and allowing just one run.  She battled Madi Eberle (6-3) who settled in for five scoreless innings after giving up the early homer before being dinged again in the seventh.
 
Olivia Krehbiel's two-run long ball in the opening frame gave the Bears their second straight 2-0 cushion heading into the home half of the inning.
 
After first-inning fireworks from Krehbiel, the pitching duel set in as Hunsaker and Eberle matched each other for scoreless frames through the fourth inning.  The only tense moment through that stretch came in the bottom of the second when the Salukis loaded the bases with one out, but the crafty Hunsaker induced consecutive fly outs to squash the threat.
 
SIU scratched across its first run of the day in the fifth with an RBI single from Katelyn Massa to cut the MSU lead in half.
 
Hunsaker granted herself some insurance in the top of the seventh with a bases-loaded single.  Three consecutive Bears reached ahead of Hunsaker via a hit by pitch, an error and a walk before her two-run base knock.
 
The left side of the infield provided a couple of highlight-reel plays to help Hunsaker and the Bears finish off the Salukis in the bottom of the seventh.  Plummer made a diving grab on a liner from leadoff hitter Maris Boelens while Krehbiel snagged another SIU line drive later in the inning and fired to first to double-up the Salukis for a cherry-on-top ending to MSU's big day.
 
The Bears made the most of their four hits in the game with two of them producing runs on the RBIs from Hunsaker and Krehbiel.  Plummer went 1-2 at the plate and drew two free passes while Darian Frost reached base safely twice on a hit and a walk.

Missouri State returns to Springfield for a four-games-in-four-days homestand, beginning with a series against Drake on March 27-28.  The Bears will then host Kansas City for a non-conference game on March 30.