Courtesy: MSU Photo Services Jon Barnes pitched the final two innings for the win
Down to the last strike of the eighth inning in a 3-3 game, Missouri State’s Ben Carlson smacked a double to left center, stole third and scored on a throwing error by the catcher for a 4-3 lead that held up after Jon Barnes tossed a scoreless ninth as the Bears defeated 17th-ranked Oklahoma State Wednesday evening at Hammons Field.
The Bears improved to 17-12 overall with their fourth straight win, while OSU fell to 21-11.
Missouri State grabbed a quick lead after Brayden Drake doubled home Aaron Conway and Kevin Medrano three batters into the bottom of the first. OSU’s Thomas Keeling struck out the next three hitters to keep the score at 2-0 MSU.
Conway got the offense in motion again in the third with a leadoff double, then moved to third on Medrano’s sacrifice and scored on a wild pitch for a 3-0 lead.
Pat Doyle kept the Cowboys off the scoreboard for four innings before Neil Medchill drove in a pair with a two-out single in the fifth, ending the junior righty’s night after a career-high 4.2 innings. Brant Combs gave up a single but struck out Kevin David to keep the MSU advantage at 3-2.
Doug Kroll’s single tied the game in the sixth, and the Cowboys threatened in the eighth with runners on second and third with one out, but Barnes escaped the jam to keep the score at 3-3.
Combs allowed a run and struck out three in 2.1 innings, and Barnes (1-1) gave up just an infield single in the final two frames for the win, the first by a Missouri State reliever this season.
Slick defensive plays by Medrano and Travis McComack and a strikeout of Medchill, the Cowboys’ leading hitter, finished off the ninth for MSU.
The Bears open a three-game set against Missouri Valley Conference rival Illinois State (14-9, 4-3) at 6 p.m. Friday at Duffy Bass Field in Normal, Ill.
Courtesy: MSU Photo Services