Season Statistics

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois State hit a pair of eighth-inning home runs Sunday afternoon to grab a 4-3 victory and avoid being swept by the Missouri State Bears at Hammons Field.

With Missouri State leading 3-1 in the eighth, ISU's (19-27, 6-12 Missouri Valley Conference) Ryan Cermak and Jake McCaw hit back-to-back homers to put the Redbirds up 4-3.

It was 1-0 ISU when Mason Greer hit his seventh homer of the season to lead off the fifth, and two outs later the game was delayed for an hour and 41 minutes due to weather.

Upon resumption, Spencer Nivens hit a two-run homer in the sixth to extend his hitting streak to 12 games and give the Bears (24-24, 7-11) a 3-1 lead, but ISU retired the final 12 MSU batters of the game after that.

Five Missouri State pitchers combined to strike out 12 against one walk. Eric Loomis matched his career high with five strikeouts in three relief innings, and Riyan Rodriguez tossed two hitless frames in addition to singing the national anthem prior to the game.

The Bears close the regular season with a three-game series May 19-21 at Bradley.