PEORIA, Ill. – Bradley used a two-run, fifth-inning rally and a complete-game mound effort from Cameron Roegner to snap Missouri State’s six-game win streak with a 2-1 decision Saturday afternoon at Dozer Park.
Roegner (3-3) retired the first 13 batters of the game in order and allowed only three hits and one walk while striking out a career-best seven hitters in his first complete game. The senior left-hander took a shutout bid into the ninth inning before Jake Burger’s one-out home run accounted for the Bears’ lone tally of the contest.
Luke Mangieri led the Braves with a 2-for-3 day at the plate and started BU’s critical fifth-inning rally by drawing a leadoff walk. Ian Kristan also logged a pair of hits for the Braves and drove in what would prove to be the deciding run with his fifth-inning sacrifice fly.
While the Bears struggled to generate any offense, the Braves produced several early scoring chances against MSU starter Dylan Coleman. BU put at least one runner on base in each of the first five innings, but Coleman consistently worked his way out of trouble to keep the game scoreless into the fifth.
Mangieri got the ball rolling with a leadoff single in the first, but Aaron Meyer’s diving stop resulted in an inning-ending double play. Coleman logged six strikeouts over the ensuing three innings, stranding a pair of baserunners in the third, before punching out D.J. Gasso for the final out of the fourth with the bases full of Braves.
But the home club broke through in the fifth to seize control of the game, once again using leadoff walk to get its offense going. Mangieri, who reached base safely in each of his first three trips to the plate, drew a free pass from Coleman, before Spencer Gaa moved the runner into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Tyler Leffler’s bouncer to second was mishandled for an error that put runners on the corners, and Paul Solka plated the first run of the game with a base hit to right. Kristan doubled the BU lead with a sac fly to right, before Bears reliever Jake Fromson induced a ground ball to third to get out of the inning.
MSU’s’ best scoring chance would come in the top of the fifth after Jeremy Eierman’s one-out double handed the Bears their first baserunner of the day. After Roegner struck out Alex Jefferson for the second out in the inning, Meyer drew a walk to keep the rally alive before a hit batsman loaded the bases. Roegner came through in the clutch, however, getting Justin Paulsen to ground to second for an inning-ending force out.
The Bears would put just one more batter on base – a Matt Dezort single in the sixth — until Burger’s solo shot in the ninth pulled MSU to within one run and snapped Roegner’s shutout bid. The lefty would close out the victory by striking out Spencer Johnson and retiring Eierman on a fly ball, ending MSU’s 11-game win streak in Missouri Valley Conference play.
Johnson’s streak of 45 straight games reaching base safely via a hit, walk or hit-by-pitch also came to an end with the senior’s 0-for-4 day.
Fromson would turn in 3 1/3 innings of two-hit relief, striking out three and walking none. Coleman (4-2) suffered the loss after yielding just one earned run on five hits over his 4.2 innings.
The Bears (25-6, 1-1 MVC) and Braves (15-10, 1-1 MVC) conclude their series with another noon contest Sunday (April 10) at Dozer Park.
