VALPARAISO, Ind. – Missouri State blitzed Valparaiso with 10 runs in the first two innings Sunday afternoon at Emory G. Bauer Field on the way to a 14-3 series-clinching victory.
The Bears (17-21, 6-9 Missouri Valley Conference) scored four times with two out in the first, beginning with a Nick Rodriguez RBI single that drove in Cody Kelly. Valpo (12-25, 4-11) dropped a fly ball hit by Izzy Lopez that allowed two more to score, and Logan Chambers capped it with an RBI single.
Tyler Epstein led off the second with a single and stole his way to third to set up a six-run frame. Zack Stewart and Taeg Gollert hit RBI singles, Lopez smacked a two-run double and Chambers hit a two-run homer to make it 10-0.
Gollert opened the fourth with a double and scored on another Rodriguez single, Valpo hit solo homers in the fourth and fifth frames, and Stewart began the sixth with his MVC-leading 16th round-tripper of the season for a 12-2 lead.
A two-out error in the sixth helped Valpo close to 12-3, and Kelly smacked a two-run double in the ninth for the 14-3 final margin, finishing the series 6-for-8 at the plate with four walks.
Kelly, Stewart, Gollert, Rodriguez, Chambers, Dylan Leach and Epstein all recorded two hits, and Chambers drove in a career-best three runs.
Kaleb Thomas made his first career mound start, equaling his career high with four innings and four strikeouts while allowing a run on four hits. Brendan Beaver (2-2) got the win after yielding one earned run in three innings of relief, while Reed Metz and Stephen Schissler each pitched a scoreless inning to close it out.
Missouri State visits Missouri at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The Tigers beat the Bears 6-2 on April 16 in Springfield.
