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Jeremy Eierman homered twice to drive in the first seven Missouri State runs of an eventual 8-2 victory over CSUN that completed a three-game sweep and a perfect 5-0 home stand Sunday afternoon at Hammons Field.
Eierman moved into the Bears’ all-time top 10 for home runs with a three-run blast that opened the scoring in the third, then belted a grand slam the following inning to give MSU all the offense it would need to capture its fifth-straight win.
MSU starting pitcher Logan Wiley (3-2) kept the Matadors (9-14) in check over a career-best 7.0 innings, allowing just two runs on five hits in his first home start as a Bear. Relievers Nate Witherspoon and Matt Russell each chipped in with a scoreless inning to close out the win and a dominant weekend for the Bears’ pitching staff. MSU hurlers combined to give up just four runs (three earned) and 15 total hits—only one of which went for extra bases—in the series, holding the Matadors to a .160 team batting mark.
The Bears (16-6) benefitted from two-hit games by both Eierman and Hunter Steinmetz, who combined to score four of MSU’s eight runs as well. Eierman’s first home run of the day—a one-out shot to left for his 36th career round-tripper—followed singles by Logan Geha and Steinmetz off CSUN starter Matt Acosta (3-4) and moved the junior into the No. 10 spot on MSU’s career homer list.
Eierman struck again in the fourth after the Bears used a leadoff single by Brooks Zimmerman and walks to Matt Brown and Steinmetz to set up another threat. MSU’s All-American shortstop drove a 1-1 pitch from Acosta over the berm in left-center to match the career homer total of Chris Curry (1995-98) in the ninth position on the chart and run the Bears lead to 7-0.
Eierman’s career-best seven RBIs matched the seventh-best single-game total in Missouri State history, while his two-home run game marked his fourth multi-homer effort as a Bear.
Wiley picked up his second mound win in as many starts as a Bear, allowing just a two-run homer to Albee Weiss in the sixth inning that snapped a 17-inning scoreless inning streak by MSU pitchers in the series. The sophomore right-hander faced few threats other than Weiss’s 12th long ball of the season, allowing just two additional baserunners to reach scoring position.
All 10 Bears position players who recorded a plate appearance reached base safely via a hit or walk, including Ben Whetstone, who went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks to keep his streak of reaching base safely in every game this season alive.
Up next, the Bears will look to stay hot with a Tuesday (March 27) evening contest at Kansas. First pitch from Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence is slated for 6:05 p.m.
