VALPARAISO, Ind. – Missouri State scored in four consecutive innings midway through Saturday’s game at Valparaiso and held on through a tense ninth inning for an 8-6 victory to even the Missouri Valley Conference series at Emory G. Bauer Field.
The Bears (16-21, 5-9 MVC) led 1-0 in the second when Logan Chambers knocked a two-out single and scored on Cody Kelly’s double, Valpo tied it in the second on a sacrifice fly and then launched a two-run homer in the third to lead 3-1.
MSU starter Jason Schaaf (2-1) did not allow a hit after that while completing a career-best six innings, leaving with a 7-3 lead thanks to the offense rolling through the middle frames.
Taeg Gollert led off the fourth with one of his two doubles and scored on a Nick Rodriguez single, then the Bears erupted for a four-run fifth, starting with Cody Kelly’s leadoff homer and ending with Zack Stewart’s league-best 15th round-tripper of the season, a three-run shot that made it 6-3.
Chambers walked and scored on a combination of two wild pitches and a stolen base in the sixth, then Stewart opened the seventh with a walk, stole second and scored on another Rodriguez single for an 8-3 lead.
Valpo (12-24, 4-10) put three runners on to begin the eighth and scored one run before the Bears’ turned their season-high fourth double play of the year, and Dalen Stewart went back out to the mound in the ninth to try and complete the three-inning save.
The Beacons opened with a single and two doubles to make it 8-6, and the Bears used three more pitchers, with Tyler Charlton getting a strikeout for the second out and Eric Loomis doing the same to Valpo’s final batter to earn the save.
Kelly reached safely in all four plate appearances, and the Bears stole a season-high five bases.
The rubber match is set for 1 p.m. Sunday.
