NASHVILLE – Missouri State softball suffered a one-run, 6-5, loss in walk-off fashion Sunday afternoon on the road at Belmont. 
 
The Bears and Bruins once again delivered a great battle as the game came down the final inning. 
 
Belmont (26-11, 12-4 MVC) jumped out to an early lead in the first inning, knocking a leadoff homer before scoring their second run on a sacrifice fly following a triple.
 
Missouri State (10-27, 6-11 MVC) would cut the deficit in half in the top of the second on a Kelsie Lewis two-out solo home run, marking her first long ball of the season. MSU got in a bit of a jam in the bottom of the second, but with the bases loaded and two outs, Gracie Johnston forced a fly out to end the inning and keep the score at 2-1. 
 
Following an extremely quiet stretch over the third and fourth innings, in which both teams combined for one hit, the Bears broke through again in the fifth. With one out on the board, the nine-hole hitter Kenzie Derryberry launched her first home run of the season over the fence in center field to tie the game at 2-2. 
 
Despite the shift in momentum in favor of the Bears, Belmont grabbed it right back in the bottom of the fifth. The Bruins used three doubles, two hit by pitches, a sacrifice bunt and an RBI pop up to plate three runs in the fifth, taking a 5-2 lead. 
 
As the game entered the seventh inning, the Bears showed they are never out of a fight. After a strikeout to begin the inning, Lewis sent a single to center field and Chloe Merced drew a walk to put two Bears on the pond. A ground out moved the runners to second and third but it also put the second out up on the board. Down to the final out, Olivia Krehbiel knocked a two-RBI double to right center and Ellie McCoy scored her with an RBI single perfectly placed in shallow right center to tie the game at 5-5. 
 
Unfortunately, the comeback effort fell short as the Bruins walked it off in the bottom of the seventh following a leadoff double and an RBI single up the middle as the Bears fell 6-5 in the series finale. 
 
McCoy and Lewis each logged multiple hit games, while Krehbiel led the way with two RBI. Missouri State knocked three extra-base hits on the afternoon, but unfortunately gave up seven hits for extra bases to the Bruins. 
 
The Bears are back at home next week as they welcome Kansas for a midweek matchup on Wednesday (April 7) before Valparaiso comes to town for a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series (April 19-21).