SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State softball (16-18, 5-8 CUSA) opened the series against Liberty (16-19, 9-4 CUSA) with a 2-0 victory at Killian Stadium on Thursday night.
 
Emily Koranda (9-8) and Paityn Engemann combined to shut out the Flames. Koranda, the freshman right-hander, tossed 6.2 scoreless innings and allowed six hits while striking out one. With the Bears one out away from victory and three Liberty runners on base, Engemann entered the game in relief and earned her second save of the season. The pitching tandem stranded nine Liberty base runners on the night.
 
It was a pitcher's duel in Springfield as the first three innings saw zeroes on the scoreboard for both squads.
 
Missouri State finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth inning as Riley Baber led things off with a double to left field. In the next at-bat, a Liberty throwing error allowed Lauren Rowland to get to second base as Baber came around to score the game's first run to give Mo State the lead. With no outs still on the board, Kayla Ulrich used a sacrifice bunt to move Rowland to third, but the Bears couldn't inflict further damage as a ground out and line out brought the inning to a close.
 
The Bears added a much-needed insurance run in the bottom of the sixth with Baber once again getting on to start the inning, this time via a Liberty throwing error. Mo State executed another sacrifice bunt to move pinch runner Emily Evans into scoring position before Alexis Perales knocked a double to right center field to bring her home.
 
Needing three outs to secure the victory, the Bears had to dig deep in the top of the seventh inning. Liberty got its leadoff batter on base via a hit by pitch, before later loading the bases courtesy of a walk and another hit by pitch. With two outs and the bases loaded for Liberty, Mo State turned to Engemann to close this one out, which she did by forcing a ground ball as Ulrich stepped on third base for the force out to secure the win.
 
Perales led the way for the Bears offensively, going 2-for-3 at the plate with two doubles and an RBI. Sofia King and Baber contributed Mo State's other two extra-base hits on the night, while Baber and Evans scored the Bears' two runs.
 
The Bears and Flames will close out the series with a doubleheader tomorrow beginning at 2:00 p.m. Both games will stream on ESPN+.