SPRINGFIELD — Missouri State relied on the long ball and the left arm of Andy Cheray to post a 5-0 victory over Oral Roberts in its 2016 home opener Wednesday afternoon at Hammons Field. Cheray scattered six hits over 6 1/3 scoreless innings, while three different Bears powered up with home runs to seize the momentum in a tightly contested pitcher’s duel.
Cheray (1-0), who struck out six and walked just one Golden Eagle, combined with relievers Sam Perez and Bryan Young to log the Bears’ first shutout of the season. The senior left-hander did not allow more than one ORU baserunner in any inning, as just three visiting baserunners reached scoring position on the day.
After ORU freshman Josh McMinn tossed four scoreless innings of his own to start the game, Missouri State catcher Eduardo Castro broke the seal with a two-out homer to left-center—his third home run in five at-bats over the Bears’ last two contests. Two innings later, fellow senior Spencer Johnson made it a 2-0 game with a leadoff shot off the back wall of the MSU bullpen. Finally, Jake Burger broke the game open with a two-run blast over the left-field scoreboard for a 4-0 Bears lead, before Johnson tacked on an insurance run with a sac fly to center.
Perez took over for Cheray with a runner on second and one out in the seventh and promptly retired Noah Cummings on a ground ball to second and Trevin Sonnier on an inning-ending fly to left. The Golden Eagles would see just one more hitter reach base, as Perez fanned a pair of batters to work around a one-out, infield hit in the eighth, before Young blazed through the top of the ninth with three straight strikeouts.
McMinn (0-2), who retired the first eight MSU hitters he faced before Jeremy Eierman’s two-out hit in the third, suffered the tough-luck setback despite allowing just the one run on four hits over his 6.0 innings. Matt Whatley led the Golden Eagles with a 2-for-4 day at the plate, while Nick Rotola went 1-for-3 with the lone ORU walk of the game.
Burger extended his current hit streak to eight games with his 2-for-4 day, while Hunter Steinmetz recorded a hit in his seventh straight game to start his MSU career, going 2-for-4 with a run scored. Eierman also continued a hot stretch at the plate that has seen the freshman log hits in five consecutive games.
Up next, the Bears (6-1) open a three-game non-conference series against SIU Edwardsville Friday at Hammons Field. The first pitch for the opener is slated for 3:05 p.m., before the two clubs square off again Saturday (2:05 p.m.) and Sunday (1:05 p.m.).
