Tigers Top Bears, 6-2

SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State was unable to overcome a 4-0 deficit after two innings Tuesday at Hammons Field in a 6-2 loss to Missouri in front of a season-high 2,541 fans.
 
The Tigers (17-21) turned three hits into two runs in the first inning and swatted a two-run homer in the second for the early advantage, and the Bears (15-20) allowed just one earned run after that and matched MU with nine total hits but couldn’t make up enough ground.
 
It was 5-0 after Missouri’s leadoff man was hit by a pitch and scored in the fourth, and the Bears got on the board in the fifth when Tyler Epstein hit a leadoff double and scored on Zack Stewart’s sacrifice fly for a 5-1 margin.
 
MU hit a solo home run in the seventh, and Nick Rodriguez matched it in the eighth with his fourth round-tripper of the season.
 
The Bears left the bases loaded in the sixth and grounded into a double play with the bases loaded to end the eighth while stranding 12 runners in the game.
 
Kaleb Thomas pitched three innings in relief and struck out three while allowing an unearned run, Michael Lindsey threw a scoreless inning, and Garrett Ferguson fanned a pair and yielded just one runner in the final 1.2 frames.
 
Stewart went 3-for-4 to lead the offense, and Izzy Lopez collected his second multi-hit game of the season.
 
The Bears begin a nine-game road trip this weekend with a three-game series at Valparaiso. Game one is set for 3 p.m. Friday.