TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Missouri State struck out 15 Murray State batters and scored the winning run on a Racer error in the top of the ninth inning Friday to stave off elimination in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
The second-seeded Bears (33-22) fought off multiple comeback attempts by the No. 5 Racers (31-28) and stranded Murray runners in scoring position in each of the final three innings to advance to the 5 p.m. Central game on Friday against the loser of Indiana State and Evansville.
Missouri State grabbed the win in the ninth as a leadoff walk to Nick Rodriguez and Mason Hull single put runners on the corners with one out. Murray’s reliever got the second out and Izzy Lopez, who entered as a defensive replacement in the seventh, worked a full count before a hard-hit ball to third was misplayed and then thrown high by the Murray State defender, allowing Lopez to reach safely and Rodriguez to score the go-ahead run.
Trey Ziegenbein (4-4) then worked around a one-out double in the ninth to finish the win, recording his fourth K for the final out, an inning after fanning two Racers with runners on second and third to shut down a threat.
The Bears loaded the bases with no out in the second and scored twice on a Cody Kelly sac fly and Hull RBI single, then got a sac fly from Taeg Gollert in the fifth for a 3-1 lead.
The Racers rallied in the fifth and sixth frames, scoring once in each inning while throwing out Rodriguez at home on a Kelly double in the sixth to prevent the Bears from maintaining the lead. Kelly exacted revenge in the seventh by turning an unassisted double play at first with the go-ahead Murray run on third.
Jake Eddington set the tone in the start, striking out a career-high 10 batters while allowing two runs on five hits in five innings.
