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SPRINGFIELD –– Jordan Knutson limited a high-powered Dallas Baptist lineup to two hits over eight innings while striking out a career-high 13 hitters to propel Missouri State to a 5-1 victory in a battle of unbeaten Missouri Valley Conference clubs at Hammons Field Friday evening.
Knutson (5-1) held the Patriots—the Valley’s leading offense in nearly every major statistical category—hitless over the first 5 1/3 innings and yielded the lone DBU run of the night on a Jameson Hannah solo shot in the sixth. The left-hander responded by retiring nine of the final 10 batters he faced, before Jake Fromson closed out the victory with a perfect ninth inning.
With Knutson in control on the mound, the MSU offense turned to the long ball to establish an early advantage. Blake Graham’s solo blast to right off DBU starter Ray Gaither with two out in the second opened the scoring, before Jeremy Eierman made it a 2-0 game with a two-out single in the third.
Next, Justin Paulsen doubled the MSU lead with his second homer of the season—a two-run shot to right—in the home half of the fifth.
After Hannah’s seventh round-tripper pulled the Patriots back to within three runs, Matt Brown, answered with another big fly for not only his first home run as a Bear, but his first hit of any kind in a Missouri State uniform.
In all, the Bears (19-10, 4-0 MVC) out-homered the Patriots (18-11, 3-1 MVC) by a three-to-one margin in improving to 4-0 in league play for the first time since 2009.
Graham, who added a sixth-inning double, finished with his second-straight two-hit effort, while Alex Jefferson matched a personal best with three hits of his own.
Knutson, who topped the 200-career strikeout plateau in his 18th career victory, eclipsed his previous personal high of 10 strikeouts versus Central Michigan on March 31, 2016. The senior issued just two walks on the night and has now fanned 55 batters while handing out only eight walks over 53.1 innings this season.
Gaither (4-2) suffered the loss for DBU after allowing four runs on six hits, despite striking out seven Bears in his 6.0 innings.
The Bears and Patriots continue their three-game set with a 2 p.m. contest Saturday (April 8), before wrapping up the weekend with a 1 p.m. game Sunday.
