SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State won its home opener for the sixth consecutive season Friday at Hammons Field with a solid performance in all phases of an 8-2 victory.
The Bears (5-4) piled up 11 hits at the plate, led by three from Taeg Gollert, did not walk a batter and played error-free in the field.
Gollert drove in the game’s first run with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first, A-State tied it with a solo homer in the third, and Gollert’s RBI double sparked a four-run third that put the Bears ahead for good.
After Gollert’s double, Zack Stewart walked, Logan Chambers hit an RBI single and Nick Rodriguez added a two-run double for a 5-1 advantage.
Meanwhile on the mound, Brandt Thompson (2-0) retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced after ASU’s third-inning homer, earning the win after striking out six and allowing a run on four hits in six innings.
Gollert drove in Cody Kelly for the second time to make it 6-1 in the fourth, and Dylan Leach launched a two-run homer in the seventh for MSU’s final two runs.
Arkansas State loaded the bases with nobody out on reliever Michael Lindsey in the eighth, and Tyler Tscherter came in from the bullpen to escape the jam with only one run allowed, finishing the game with two hitless innings.
The series continues at 2 p.m. Saturday.
