Missouri State University

The Missouri State baseball team scored seven runs in the first three innings and cruised to an 8-2 victory to earn the series sweep of Northern Colorado Sunday at Hammons Field.

MSU improved to 11-4 with its third straight win, while UNC fell to 5-11.

Northern Colorado starter T.R. Keating retired the first two MSU batters he faced with ease before giving up two-out singles to Nolan Keane and Brayden Drake and walking Ben Carlson to load the bases. Josh Mazzola then took a full-count pitch back up the middle to drive in two, and Carlson scored a third run on the play when Andrew Tooley failed to field the ball cleanly in center.

Ben Woodbury and Keane singled and Drake reached on an error to load the bases with no outs in the third. Carlson then launched a pop fly to shallow left that the UNC shortstop dropped to allow everyone to advance safely and Woodbury to score. Mazzola then hammered a ball over the left field wall but passed Carlson when rounding the bases and was declared out and credited with a three-run single that gave MSU a 7-0 lead. Mazzola finished the game with five RBIs.

Northern Colorado got on the scoreboard in the fourth, breaking up Aaron Meade’s no-hit bid with a leadoff single. Chad Murray followed with a double and Erik Whinery drove a runner in with a ground out to make it a 7-1 game.

Meade improved to 3-0 with five innings of two-hit work, striking out eight along the way. Freshman Tyler Ryun allowed a run in 2.2 innings of relief, Brant Combs recorded an out and Cody Aycock tossed a scoreless ninth for MSU.

MSU continued the scoring barrage in the bottom of the fourth when Keane tripled home Aaron Conway after a leadoff double.

Murray added a solo homer in the sixth for the final score.

Woodbury and Keane each tallied three-hit days for MSU.

Missouri State continues its homestand with Arkansas State at 3 p.m. Tuesday.