Panthers fall short to Missouri State 5-1 in Battle for Bell exhibition

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Missouri State’s pitching stymied Drury’s offense in the annual “Battle for Bell” exhibition game in a 5-1 win over the Panthers at Hammons Field on Saturday.
 
The game drew an estimated crowd of more than 1,200, with a portion of the ticket proceeds going to Springfield’s ALS Clinic, honoring the late Howard Bell, the former baseball coach at Glendale High School and Missouri State standout.
 
Five Missouri State pitchers combined to allow only two hits and one run while walking three and striking out 17. Jake Eddington, a transfer from Alabama, got the start for the Bears and pitched two innings and struck out four. Hayden Minton and Vanderbilt transfer Gage Bradley followed and also fanned four in two innings of work.
 
After allowing a first-inning solo home run to Spencer Nivens, DU starter Cody Bahl worked three innings and allowed three hits with no walks and three strikeouts. The Panthers trailed 2-0 midway through the game when the Bears added two more runs with a double from Nivens and a sacrifice fly by Nick Rodriguez.
 
“Pitching and defense were great for us tonight,” said Panthers head coach Scott Nasby. “If you can get that, you’re going to win games. We’ve got to find the barrel of our bats a little more often than we did tonight to win games, but you’re going to stay in games if you can pitch and play defense.”
 
Drury got on the board in the top of the seventh as junior catcher Carson Shaver belted a home run to left. The Panthers other hit came on Wes Collins’ single in the fourth inning.
 
“This was a great experience,” added Nasby. “Obviously, it was a disappointing result for us, but we understand that we have work to do and we need to get better.
 
“There was a good number of people in the stadium tonight and that helped raise a ton of money for a great cause; it spread awareness for ALS and who Howard Bell was so we can continue his legacy.”
 
Saturday’s exhibition put a Drury roster on display that features 25 newcomers and a line-up with only two full-time starters returning.
 
The Panthers will open the regular season on Feb. 11 when they start a three-game series at Christian Brothers in Memphis, Tennessee. They open their home schedule on Feb. 17 against Rockhurst at US Baseball Park in Ozark.
  
 
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