SPRINGFIELD – Brandt Thompson threw 7.1 strong innings – the longest outing for a Missouri State pitcher this season – and struck out 10 Bradley hitters Friday to lead the Bears to a 4-3 victory over the Braves in the Missouri Valley Conference series opener at Hammons Field.
Thompson (3-3) scattered an earned run on six hits with 10 strikeouts, and Missouri State overcame an early 2-0 deficit to improve to 14-14 overall and 3-4 in league games.
Bradley (10-15) turned a leadoff hit by pitch into a run in the first and a leadoff strikeout that reached on an error into a 2-0 lead in the second before Nick Rodriguez drove in both Mason Greer and Cam Cratic with a two-out single in the second to even the score.
Zack Stewart’s MVC-leading 13th double of the season drove home Spencer Nivens in the fifth and put the Bears ahead for good at 3-2, and three consecutive one-out singles in the eighth, capped by Cratic’s RBI hit, gave MSU needed insurance at 4-2.
Bradley collected three singles in the ninth to close to 4-3 with the tying run on second before Garrett Ferguson got a fly out and a strike out to finish off the final 1.2 innings and the first save of his career.
The series continues with a 10:45 a.m. first pitch Saturday at Hammons Field.
