Thursday, May 21
Kennesaw, Ga.
7:00 p.m.
Missouri State University
33-18
6
vs
4
Kennesaw State
25-28
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri State | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 |
| Kennesaw State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 0 |
May 21, 2026 | Baseball
KENNESAW, Ga. – Brant Kragel tied a career high with four RBIs while Carter Bergman and Curry Sutherland hit solo home runs to power the Bears past Kennesaw State 6-4 in their Conference USA Baseball Championship opener Thursday at Mickey Dunn Stadium.
Kragel got the scoring started for the third-seeded Bears (33-18) with a two-run homer in the second, the Owls (25-28) pulled even in the fourth, and Max Knight (6-3) began his relief outing with three-plus scoreless innings that allowed Mo State to take the lead.
Bergman's team-leading 16th blast of the year traveled 423 feet to dead center field for a 3-2 advantage in the seventh, and Sutherland matched him by opening the eighth with his 16th round-tripper of the season. Kragel added a two-run double later that inning to make it 6-2 Bears.
The Owls finally got to Knight with a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth, bringing Sutherland over from third base for the five-out save.
The junior fanned a pair to close the eighth and struck out two more in the ninth, including the final out with runners on the corners to secure his second save.
The Bears wrap up pool play at 3 p.m. Central on Friday against fourth-seeded Dallas Baptist. Mo State can advance to Saturday's semifinal round in one of two ways, either by defeating DBU or by a Jacksonville State win over Western Kentucky in the preceding game.
Kragel got the scoring started for the third-seeded Bears (33-18) with a two-run homer in the second, the Owls (25-28) pulled even in the fourth, and Max Knight (6-3) began his relief outing with three-plus scoreless innings that allowed Mo State to take the lead.
Bergman's team-leading 16th blast of the year traveled 423 feet to dead center field for a 3-2 advantage in the seventh, and Sutherland matched him by opening the eighth with his 16th round-tripper of the season. Kragel added a two-run double later that inning to make it 6-2 Bears.
The Owls finally got to Knight with a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth, bringing Sutherland over from third base for the five-out save.
The junior fanned a pair to close the eighth and struck out two more in the ninth, including the final out with runners on the corners to secure his second save.
The Bears wrap up pool play at 3 p.m. Central on Friday against fourth-seeded Dallas Baptist. Mo State can advance to Saturday's semifinal round in one of two ways, either by defeating DBU or by a Jacksonville State win over Western Kentucky in the preceding game.
#WeAreMoState
Players Mentioned
C
/ Baseball
LHP/1B/OF
/ Baseball
UT
/ Baseball
IF/RHP
/ BaseballTeam Stats
Pitching:
W: Knight, Max (6-3)
L: Helman (3-1)
S: Sutherland, Curry (2)
Batting:
2B: Kragel, Brant 1
HR: Sutherland, Curry 1 ; Bergman, Carter 1 ; Kragel, Brant 1
RBI: Sutherland, Curry 1 ; Bergman, Carter 1 ; Kragel, Brant 4
SH: Ryan, Jax 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sutherland, Curry 1 ; Gollert, Taeg 1 ; Bogenpohl, Caden 2 ; Bergman, Carter 1 ; Kragel, Brant 1
HBP: Bergman, Carter 1
Batting:
2B: Lyons 1
HR: Chirello 1
RBI: Cole 1 ; Chirello 2 ; McDuffie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lyons 1 ; Chirello 1 ; McCollum 1 ; Posey 1
SB: Cole 1
CS: Lyons 1
Game Leaders
dh/1b
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
4
2b/3b
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
3b/p
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Sunday, November 08
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