COLUMBIA, Mo. – Early scoring turned into a pitchers' duel on Tuesday evening at Taylor Stadium as Missouri topped Missouri State 5-2 in a game that neither team scored after the third inning.
 
The Bears (21-10) scored on Carter Bergman's bases-loaded hit by pitch in the first inning and a wild pitch in the second, while the Tigers (20-14) strung together a pair of two-out singles in the first to make it 2-2 after two frames.
 
The Tigers managed only one hit after that, but it was a doozy, with Donovan Jordan following two walks with a three-run homer in the third inning for the 5-2 final margin.
 
The home run tainted an otherwise stellar relief outing from Brock Lucas (3-3) who struck a season-high eight batters while allowing just Jordan's hit in five innings. Tyler Charlton started and fanned four in two innings, while Curry Sutherland tossed a 1-2-3 inning and has now retired 15 consecutive batters over his last four appearances.
 
The Bears left 10 on base in the game, including seven in the first three innings, and went 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position in their first game this season without an extra-base hit.
 
MU reliever Keyler Gonzalez (2-0) got the win with nine strikeouts in six innings.
 
Missouri State stays on the road for a CUSA series at Delaware from April 10-12. The Tigers make the return trip to Hammons Field on April 15 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets to all home games are available here.