FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Missouri State scored five runs in the ninth inning and Nick Rodriguez hit the go-ahead home run in the 10th to cap a 5-for-6 day for the senior as the Bears topped second-ranked Arkansas Tuesday by a 14-13 final at Baum-Walker Stadium.
The Bears (11-12) scored at least once in eight of 10 innings, with a wild rally to force extras before Rodriguez finished off his third career multi-homer game for the win.
MoState jumped out 4-0, then gave up 12 runs in innings 4-6 to enter the final third of the game trailing 12-7.
Rodriguez opened the seventh with his first home run and Arkansas got an insurance run in the eighth for a 13-8 lead before the ninth-inning rally.
Taeg Gollert’s RBI single go the merry-go-round started in the ninth, Max Knight followed with an RBI double, Zack Stewart hit an RBI single, Tyler Epstein walked with the bases loaded and Dylan Robertson tied it at 13-all with an RBI fielder’s choice.
Jackson Holmes, the Bears’ eighth pitcher of the night, fired a 1-2-3 ninth inning, then got the first out of the 10th before handing it over to Knight, who needed just three pitches to retire the next two batters for his first career save.
Knight also reach safely four times after starting at first base, Jake McCutcheon reached five times, Stewart had two hits with a solo homer, and Epstein added a solo homer.
Notes and Superlatives
- The No. 2 Razorbacks are the highest-ranked team the Bears have defeated since beating No. 1 Wichita State in the 1996 MVC Tournament.
- Nick Rodriguez had the first five-hit game by a Bear since Jeremy Eierman at Arkansas on May 17, 2016, and is the first MSU player to score five runs in a game since Jake Burger against Western Illinois on March 16, 2016
- MSU’s 14 runs matches the program’s highest total in the 90-game series history.
- The Bears have now scored 54 runs in their four-game winning streak, scoring at least one run in 16 of their last 20 offensive innings.
- The Bears’ 14 runs were the most scored against Arkansas this season.
- MoState handed Arkansas its first home loss after a 19-0 start.
The Bears return back to Missouri Valley Conference play this weekend with a home series against Belmont. MoState is 3-0 in the league and takes on the Bruins at 6:30 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. Tickets to home baseball games can be purchased here, and MSU students are admitted free with a valid Bearpass ID.
Starting at 9 a.m. on March 26, MSU baseball single-game tickets will be on sale for $2 each for 14 hours only in celebration of the Bears’ 14 runs score.
