SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State pitchers struck out 18 Drury batters and allowed just two hits Saturday evening in the sixth edition of the Battle for Bell, leading the Bears to a 5-1 exhibition victory over the Panthers as the teams joined forces to honor former Bear Howard Bell and continue the quest to find a cure for ALS– commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Spencer Nivens sent the second pitch he saw in the bottom of the first over the right field fence at Hammons Field for a leadoff home run and went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI on the night.

Mason Greer hit an RBI double in the fourth, Nivens added one of his own in the fifth followed by a Nick Rodriguez sac fly that made it 4-0, and Dylan Robertson added a solo shot in the seventh to cap the MSU scoring. Five of the Bears' six hits went for extra bases.

Drury hit a solo homer in the eighth for its only run.

On the mound, the Bears' pitching staff dominated with 18 strikeouts and five total baserunners.

Alabama transfer Jake Eddington got the start and struck out four in two innings, while Hayden Minton and Gage Bradley each matched that effort to get MSU through six innings with 12 Ks and one hit allowed.

Brandt Thompson struck out the side in the seventh, Trey Ziegenbein threw the eighth and Scott Youngbrandt fired a scoreless ninth with a pair of punchouts.
 
The Bears claimed their sixth win over Drury in as many contests since the inception of the series in 2012.