SPRINGFIELD – Visiting Belmont handed Missouri State its first Missouri Valley Conference loss of the season and tied the weekend series at one game apiece Saturday afternoon with a 17-11 victory at Hammons Field.
 
The Bruins (10-18, 2-3) scored in every inning but the first and took the lead for good in a four-run fifth.
 
For their part, the Bears (12-13, 4-1) scored in double figures for the third consecutive game, a first since 2019, while their 81 runs over the last six contests is the most in a six-game stretch since 1999.
 
MoState matched its season high with four homers, but Belmont's 17 runs on 19 hits were both the most against the Bears this season.
 
Max Knight hit a two-run homer in the second, Nick Rodriguez added a two-run shot in the fourth, Jake McCutcheon hit a solo bomb in the eighth and Dylan Robertson swatted a three-run pinch-hit homer on the only pitch he saw in the ninth.
 
Taeg Gollert (13) and Rodriguez (12) each extended their respective hitting streaks, and Caden Bogenpohl went 2-for-5 with a walk to reach safely for a 38^th consecutive game.
 
MoState used eight pitchers, with Owen Slater (0-1) taking the losing decision.
 
Belmont's Mike Sprockett led the way for the Bruins with two home runs and five runs scored.
 
The series concludes at 12 p.m. Sunday.