COLUMBIA, Mo. – A six-run sixth inning by Missouri proved to be the difference Tuesday at Taylor Stadium as the Tigers emerged from the season’s second and final meeting with Missouri State with a 10-6 victory.
The Bears (17-22) out hit MU 11-10 but left 10 men on base – including five in the first two innings – while four of Missouri’s six runs in the big inning reached via walk or error.
Tyler Charlton retired all six Tigers (19-23) he faced in the start, and MU got a pair of two-out singles in the third and a solo home run in the fourth to lead 3-0.
Nick Rodriguez led off the MSU sixth with a double before Cody Kelly drove him in with a double of his own and scored on a Logan Chambers single to make it 3-2.
The Tigers answered immediately, loading the bases with a double and two walks to open the bottom half before Mateo Serna launched a grand slam. MU scored twice more that frame and again the seventh to make it 10-2.
Chambers collected his second RBI of the game with a ground out in the eighth, and the Bears scored three in the ninth. Carter Bergman was hit by a pitch and scored on a passed ball, and Kelly added a two-run homer, his sixth of the year, for the 10-6 final.
Missouri State used a total of eight pitchers in the game and struck out 13 MU batters. Stephen Schissler fanned four in 1.1 frames for his highest total as a Bear.
Kelly, Rodriguez, Chambers, Tyler Epstein and Zack Stewart each recorded two hits for the offense.
MSU stays on the road for a three-game weekend series at Evansville. Game times are 6 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
