Missouri State University

OMAHA, Neb. -- The Missouri State baseball team scored five runs in the third inning Wednesday and five more in the seventh on the way to a 10-3 victory over top-seeded Creighton at the State Farm MVC Tournament in Omaha, Neb.

    Heavy rains within miles of TD Ameritrade Park miraculously held off all day, allowing the Bears (33-21) and CU (40-14) to play a fifth game of the day and get the tournament back on schedule from a Tuesday postponement, beginning the contest at 9:40 p.m. and ending at 12:26 a.m. Thursday.
   
    The Bears knocked 13 hits in another balanced effort as nine players recorded a hit, eight scored a run and seven had an RBI. Missouri State is batting .375 in two tournament games.

    After Creighton snagged a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second, the Bears responded in the third on Kevin Medrano’s one-out triple that tied the game after Spiker Helms and Aaron Conway walked. Luke Voit followed with an RBI double, Brent Seifert singled and Derek Mattea took a 1-2 pitch into center for a two-out, two-run single to chase starter Ty Blach (10-2) from the game after 2.2 frames just five days after the CU southpaw beat the Bears 3-1.

    The Bears’ defense stepped up to turn inning-ending double plays on Creighton’s Nos. 3 and 5 hitters in the third and sixth innings, respectively, to help Blake Barber (8-4) complete seven innings with seven hits, two runs, a walk and a career-high seven strikeouts.

    Barber finished the seventh with a 10-2 cushion after Missouri State put up another five-spot in the top of the inning. Seifert got things started with a one-out double to right and scored on Brock Chaffin’s pinch-hit single before Mattea was hit by a pitch, Travis McComack knocked an RBI single, Helms added an RBI single and Conway finished it off with a two-run single to center for a 10-2 advantage.

    The Jays made it 10-3 in the eighth with a leadoff double and two ground outs off J.C. Casey before Dan Kickham pitched a scoreless ninth.

    The Bears play next at 7:30 p.m. Thursday against the winner of an elimination game between Creighton and Southern Illinois at 12:30 p.m. If Missouri State wins, it advances to Saturday’s championship, while a loss would force a 4 p.m. Friday game with a trip to the title game at stake.