SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State scored two runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth Friday evening at Hammons Field for a 6-3 victory over Indiana State to stay in first place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings.
Jake McCutcheon and Taeg Gollert hit back-to-back RBI singles in the seventh to put the Bears (26-21, 16-6) up 4-3, and Nick Rodriguez added a two-run homer in the eighth to cap his 2-for-3 game with two walks.
Rodriguez ran his hit streak to 34 games, the longest in the MVC since Southern Illinois’ Kevin Koski hit in 36 straight in 2005-06, while his 38th career home run tied him with Ben Carlson for 11th all-time at MSU.
Jason Schaaf and Max Knight combined for a gem on the mound, holding the Sycamores to just four hits in the game.
Schaaf yielded an unearned run in the fourth and two in the seventh, while in between retiring nine consecutive batters and not allowing a hit in innings 3-6, ending his start seven strikeouts.
Knight (5-2) got the winning decision by fanning five and yielding just one hit in the final three innings in addition to a 2-for-4 day at the plate.
Gollert put the Bears up early with a solo homer in the second, and Caden Bogenpohl scored on a wild pitch the next inning for 2-0.
The Sycamores (22-27, 10-12) scored one in the fourth and led 3-2 in the seventh after loading the bases with nobody out and scoring twice.
MoState improved to 18-6 at home, their most wins at Hammons Field since 21 victories in 2017.
Game two of the series is 6:30 p.m. Saturday. MoState students graduating this weekend can receive free tickets for up to two guests at the Hammons Field box office on game day in addition to the complimentary ticket already given to MSU students. Advance tickets to home baseball games can be purchased here, however, the graduate deal is not available online.
