Box Score | Season Stats

CONWAY, Ark. – Central Arkansas scored the final four runs of Friday's season opener against Missouri State, handing the MSU Bears just their second opening-day loss in the last 10 years by a 7-4 margin at Bear Stadium on the UCA campus.

Missouri State collected 12 hits, including five doubles, and went down in order only twice on the day, but stranded 11 total runners, including six in scoring position.

The game's fourth lead change went UCA's way in the seventh after the home team put up a three-spot with the help of three hit batters and two walks from Missouri State pitching, needing only an infield single to take a 6-4 lead. Central Arkansas squeezed home an insurance run after a one-out triple in the eighth for the final margin.

Central Arkansas took a 1-0 lead with a solo home run in the second, and Missouri State tied it in the third on doubles from Will Duff and Drake Baldwin.

MSU junior Mason Greer's one-out fly ball in the fourth found the turf for a double after playing tricks on the UCA defense to set the stage for Grant Wood's two-out RBI single and a 2-1 lead.

Central Arkansas took it back at 3-2 in the bottom half thanks to two singles, a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt and a sac fly.

Spencer Nivens played a key role in Missouri State's next two runs, leading off the fifth with a double and scoring on a Greer single, then swatting another double in the sixth that drove in freshman Hayden Moore for a 4-3 MSU lead.

Duff went 3-for-4 with a run scored, while Baldwin, Greer and Nivens each had two hits and an RBI.

Jared Viertel went 3.1 innings and yielded two earned runs in the start, Forrest Barnes followed with 3.1 frames, giving up just one hit but taking the loss thanks to UCA's big seventh inning. Freshman Ty Blecha recorded the final four outs for Missouri State.

The teams meet again at noon Saturday.