NORMAL, Ill. – Missouri State scored six runs in the eighth inning Friday evening at Illinois State to take the lead for good in a 14-10 series-opening victory at Duffy Bass Field.
 
Nick Rodriguez homered twice and tied Brayden Drake's school record 30-game hitting streak, Taeg Gollert doubled twice, and Dylan Robertson hit a three-run double in the decisive inning as part of MSU's eight extra-base hits.
 
Rodriguez and Jake McCutcheon hit back-to-back homers in the first inning and Rodriguez led off the eighth with another round-tripper, tying him for fifth in MSU history with his fifth career multi-homer games.
 
The Bears (24-19, 14-5 Missouri Valley Conference) trailed 9-5 after five innings before scoring nine unanswered runs, beginning with a three-run sixth that included a Caden Bogenpohl RBI double, Rodriguez RBI single and Gollert RBI double for a 9-8 deficit.
 
MoState knocked four extra-base hits and walked three times in the six-run eighth, with Rodriguez swatting a leadoff homer, Gollert adding an RBI double, Tyler Epstein walking to force home a run and Robertson's bases-clearing double for a 14-9 lead.
 
Gollert's two doubles gave him 54 in his MSU career, tying for the No. 5 spot on the school's career list.
 
Max Knight recorded three hits and two walks in addition to 1.1 innings on the mound, and Dalen Stewart (1-0) threw a scoreless two-thirds of an inning for the winning decision.
 
Illinois State fell to 21-22 overall and 10-9 in MVC play.
 
The series continues at 3 p.m. Saturday.