Courtesy: MSU Photo Services Aaron Conway went 3-for-5 with two RBIs
The Missouri State baseball team dropped the final game of its series at Middle Tennessee Sunday, falling to the Blue Raiders by a 7-6 score at Reese Smith Field in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
A walk, a double and a fielder’s choice turned into a run for the Blue Raiders (3-0) in the bottom of the first, and an error in the second led to a two-out double by Blake McDade that scored a pair of unearned runs and made for a 3-0 MTSU lead.
The Bears (0-3) staged a rally in the third with a single by Aaron Conway and a double from Kevin Medrano. A ground out followed by a Ben Carlson walk loaded the bases with two outs, and Chris Playter doubled in two runs to pull the Bears within one at 3-2.
MSU took a 4-3 lead in the fourth after Christian Overstreet walked and Curt Courtwright reached on a bunt single before Conway drove the tying run in with a single. Medrano then drove in Courtwright with an infield single.
A walk and three singles by the Blue Raiders tied the game in the fifth with the bases loaded and no outs. Tyler Bean, working in relief of starter Ryan Modglin, got two outs with no more runs crossing the plate, but Drew Robertson rolled a two-run single up the middle to give the home team a 6-4 lead. MTSU tacked on one more to grab the three-run advantage.
The Bears responded in the sixth with two runs coming on RBI doubles from Conway and Brayden Drake after Courtwright reached with a one-out single. Drake’s two-bagger extended his hitting streak to 18 games and gave him 50 for his career, tying Steve Hacker for sixth in school history.
Freshman reliever Adam Maddox entered the game with two outs in the fifth and held the Blue Raiders scoreless through the eighth, striking out four and yielding two hits over 3.1 frames in his collegiate debut, keeping the Bears within striking distance.
Then in the ninth, Medrano led off by reaching on a swinging bunt that the catcher fumbled on the pick up, then moved to second on a balk. Drake then drew a four-pitch walk, Carlson popped out and Playter grounded into a double play to end it.
The Bears return to action Feb. 27 against Nebraska at 2 p.m. in the Sam Houston Baseball Classic in Huntsville, Texas.
Courtesy: MSU Photo Services
