SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State and Bradley finished their four-game Missouri Valley Conference opening series with a 2-2 split after the Braves took a 10-7 decision in Saturday’s finale at Hammons Field.
The Braves (8-11, 2-2) were the beneficiaries of 17 walks and three hit batters by Missouri State (10-10, 2-2) pitching, building a 10-4 lead and holding off a late comeback by the Bears.
The deciding inning was the fourth, when Bradley plated six runs after the bases were empty with two out. From there, it was five walks, two hit batters, a single and a wild pitch that gave the Braves an 8-4 lead after Missouri State had just posted a four-run third.
Bradley turned a leadoff error into a run in the first, and used two free passes, a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch to lead 2-0 in the third.
The Bears took a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the third when Jaden Rolffs and Grant Wood hit RBI singles on either side of Ben Whetstone’s two-run double, all with two out.
BU scored on wild pitches in both the fifth and sixth frames to lead 10-4 before MSU shortstop Walker Jenkins got both runs back with a triple in the bottom of the sixth.
The Bears stranded runners on second and third in the seventh and made it 10-7 on a Jack Duffy RBI double in the eighth before leaving runners on the corners in that inning.
Missouri State used seven pitchers in the game, with Logan Thomazin and Hayden Juenger combining to keep Bradley off the scoreboard the final three innings. Thomazin fanned a pair and gave up one hit in 1.1 innings, and Juenger surrendered just an intentional walk during the eighth and ninth.
Jenkins went 2-for-4 at the plate and scored twice, Baldwin added two hits, and Wood reached safely three times.
Missouri State is back in action at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday when it hosts Drury in the first ever regular season meeting between the two schools.
