LAKE CHARLES, La. – McNeese State used an early offensive attack and some clutch work from its four pitchers to pull out a 4-3 victory over Missouri State Sunday at the Lake Area Classic at Joe Miller Ballpark.
The Cowboys (3-0) scored four times in the first four innings, erasing a 3-1 deficit in the third, before scoring the decisive tally on Nate Fisbeck’s third homer of the season in the fourth.
Missouri State (2-1) had taken a two-run lead in the top of the third, when Jeremy Eierman drove a two-out, three-run homer over the left-center field wall after Jake Burger’s second single of the day extended the inning.
But McNeese countered with a two-run rally in the home half of the inning, as Dustin Duhon singled with one out, and Ricky Ramirez, Jr., doubled him home. A throwing error by the Bears moved the runner to third, and Nate Witherspoon’s wild pitch allowed the tying run to cross the plate.
Missouri State threatened again in the top of the fourth, loading the bases with just one out on a walk, an error and a Blake Graham single. But McNeese starter Austin Sanders (1-0) coaxed a sharp grounder to third off the bat of Hunter Steinmetz, and Matt Gallier tagged the bag before firing to first to complete the inning-ending twin-killing.
Fisbeck promptly put the Cowboys in front for good in the bottom of fourth, leading off the inning with a long home run to left for a 4-3 McNeese advantage.
Sanders, who scattered five hits in his 5 1/3 innings, worked a 1-2-3 fifth before handing the ball off to his bullpen with one on and one out in the sixth. Tyler Wesley extinguished a Bears threat in the sixth, and retired eight of the nine batters he faced. The right-hander worked 3.0 innings of one-hit relief overall, striking out four and giving up just a two-out double to Eierman in the eighth.
MSU put a man on via a one-out walk to Jack Duffy in the ninth, but Ramirez fanned Graham for the second out, before closer Collin Kober retired Drew Millas on a fly ball to right for the final out.
Eierman finished the day 2-for-4 to cap a big opening weekend that saw the sophomore go 7-for-12 with a pair of homers and six RBIs. Burger logged his first two-hit game of the season with a 2-for-4 afternoon, while Jake Fromson provided four shutout innings of relief to keep the Bears close. The junior right-hander allowed just one hit and struck out four in his second scoreless appearance of the weekend.
Witherspoon (0-1) shouldered the loss in his MSU debut after allowing all four Cowboy runs (three earned) on six hits in his four innings of work.
Up next, the Bears will travel to Tulsa for a 3 p.m. game against Oral Roberts on Tuesday (Feb. 21).
