Missouri State split its Saturday doubleheader with Wichita State, pulling out a 6-1 victory in the opening game, before the Shockers erupted for five first-inning runs en route to an 11-1 win in the deciding game of the two clubs’ Missouri Valley Conference series at Eck Stadium.
Missouri State (27-8, 2-3 MVC) snapped a 1-1 tie by scoring three times in the fourth inning, then relied on some shutdown pitching from Dylan Coleman (5-2) and Jake Fromson to notch the victory in the opener. The MSU duo allowed just three hits while combining to strike out 11 Shockers in evening the series at a game apiece.
But the Shockers (13-23, 3-3 MVC) used a big first inning and a dominant start from Zach Lewis (1-6) to seal the second game and clinch the series. WSU plated five runs in the opening frame—the last three of which scored on two-out wild pitches—and stretched its lead to eight runs before the No. 15 Bears would put their first man on base.
Lewis retired the first 15 batters of the game before a leadoff walk in the sixth halted his perfect game, and Matt Fultz broke up the right-hander’s no-hit bid with a one-out single two batters later. Lewis, who earned his first career win, would allow one run on three hits while striking out five and walking just one in his 6 1/3 inning stint.
Hunter Steinmetz powered MSU’s game one victory by going 3-for-5 with a double, a triple and three runs batted-in, while Justin Paulsen (3-for-5) scored twice and matched a Bears single-game record with three doubles. Coleman and Fromson combined to limit WSU to three hits, with Fromson working the final 3 2/3 innings for his first career save.
After the two clubs traded single runs over the first three frames, the Bears took control for good with a three-run fourth inning, with Paulsen setting the wheels in motion with his second straight double off WSU starter Chase Williams (0-4). Blake Graham coaxed a walk, before both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch after Reagan Biechler took over for Williams, who suffered an apparent injury. Biechler retired Jeremy Eierman on a fly ball to left for the second out in the inning, but then hit Alex Jefferson and Eduardo Castro with successive pitches to force home the go-ahead run.
Steinmetz followed with the biggest hit of the afternoon, lining a Biechler offering up the middle for a two-run single and a 4-1 Bears lead.
Coleman worked his way out of a potential big inning in the fifth, coming up with an inning-ending strikeout of Chase Rader after the Shockers loaded the bases thanks to a two-out error and a pair of walks. Fromson rescued Coleman and the Bears the following inning, posting back-to-back strikeouts to preserve the three-run cushion after taking over with runners at second and third with one out.
MSU added to its lead thanks to the first of Steinmetz’s two extra-base hits in the game, this one a double into the left-center field gap to start the seventh. Spencer Johnson’s RBI single with one out brought the freshman home, but WSU avoided further damage by getting a fly ball to right and an inning-ending strikeout.
Castro’s double off the top of the wall in left field sparked another two-out rally for the Bears in the eighth. Steinmetz added another run-scoring hit with a triple into the right-field corner that hiked the MSU lead to 6-1.
Fromson allowed just batter to reach base, retiring 11 of the 12 Shockers he faced. The sophomore fanned five hitters after Coleman struck out six while allowing just two hits and the lone WSU run of the game in his 5.1 innings of work.
Game two took an early turn for the worse and never returned for the Bears, who fell behind 5-0 in the opening inning before eventually dropping their third Valley contest of the year by an 8-0 score. MSU starter Ryan Dunne (1-2) yielded three consecutive one-out hits and walked a pair of Shockers, then tossed three two-out wild pitches that brought in WSU runs. Gunnar Troutwine brought in the game’s first run with a base hit to left, and Tanner Kirk drove in the second with a sac fly to left.
MSU never seriously threatened the lead, as WSU starter Zach Lewis set down the first 15 batters he faced before Eierman drew a walk to start the sixth. The Shockers added to the lead with a single tally in the third, two more in both the fifth and sixth innings to increase their run total to double digits.
After the Bears scored their lone run on Paulsen’s fourth double of the afternoon in the top of the seventh, WSU ended the contest on Mikel Mucha’s two-out RBI single in the home half of the inning, handing the Bears their first MVC run-rule loss since April 17, 2011, when Southern Illinois pinned an 11-1 defeat on MSU.
Dayton Dugas led WSU’s 12-hit attack by going 3-for-3 with three RBIs, while four additional Shockers finished with two-hit games.
Up next, the Bears travel to Tulsa for a Tuesday (April 19) non-conference match-up against Oral Roberts. First pitch from J.L. Johnson Stadium is slated for 6:30 p.m.
