CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Missouri State tallied six extra-base hits Wednesday afternoon at Capaha Field to complete the sweep of a midweek home-and-home series with Southeast Missouri with a 7-3 victory.
The second through sixth hitters in the lineup carried the day with Spencer Nivens, Taeg Gollert, Cody Kelly, Zack Stewart and Jake McCutcheon all notching multi-hit days.
Stewart doubled twice and extended his hitting streak to 13 games, the longest by a true freshman at MSU since Hunter Steinmetz hit in 19 straight in 2016. McCutcheon doubled twice as well, and Kelly added a two-run homer that traveled in excess of 400 feet.
SEMO (7-11) led 1-0 after an inning when an error opened the door for a two-out single, and Nivens led off the fourth with a tying solo home run, his Missouri Valley Conference-leading seventh of the year. Gollert singled and Kelly followed with his own long ball for a 3-1 lead.
The Bears (11-5) broke it open in the fifth after five consecutive batters reached safely when the bases were empty with two out, and Stewart and McCutcheon each slugged two-run doubles for a 7-1 lead on the way to the team’s fourth straight win.
Forrest Barnes (1-0) struck out five in five innings in the start, Gage Bradley pitched the next 1.2 frames to bridge to Trey Ziegenbein, who allowed one runner in 2.1 scoreless innings to close it out.
SEMO added a run in the fifth after leadoff double and plated its final score on a wild pitch in the seventh.
The Bears stay on the road this weekend for a March 17-19 series at 10th-ranked East Carolina. First pitch Friday is set for 5 p.m. Central.
