SPRINGFIELD – Nick Rodriguez drove in Logan Dunn with the go-ahead single in the seventh inning and the Missouri State bullpen put together five innings of shutout relief to give the Bears a 6-4 victory over Evansville Friday evening in the opener of the three-game series at Hammons Field.
 
Missouri State (22-18, 12-4 Missouri Valley Conference) scored a run in the first on Taeg Gollert's 50^th career double and two more in the second thanks to a Curry Sutherland homer.
 
The Aces got to MSU starter Michael Yusypchuk with four runs in the fifth inning to lead 4-3, with Dalen Stewart relieving the freshman to complete the frame.
 
Owen Slater (3-1) followed with two shutout innings of one-hit relief, and Jackson Holmes struck out four against one hit for the save with two scoreless frames. The Bears struck out 11 and walked one Evansville batter.
 
Dunn and Rodriguez opened the fifth inning with singles to put runners on the corners, and McCutcheon drove in Dunn with the tying sac fly after Rodriguez extended his hitting streak to 27 games.
 
That duo struck again in the seventh, as Dunn doubled with two outs and just beat the Evansville catcher's tag on Rodriguez's single for the go-ahead run. A UE error allowed an insurance run to come home for the 6-4 final.
 
The MoState bullpen ran its scoreless streak to 13.2 innings with another solid performance.
 
Gollert's first-inning double made him the ninth player in school history to reach 50 in a career.
 
The series continues at 2 p.m. Saturday. Tickets to home baseball games can be purchased here, and MSU students are admitted free.