Eierman, Burger blast Bears to 8th straight win

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SPRINGFIELD – The Missouri State pitching staff turned in another dominant performance to lock down its fifth shutout of the season with a 4-0 victory that wrapped up a series sweep of Central Arkansas Sunday afternoon at Hammons Field.

Jake Fromson (2-0) and Jake Lochner teamed up to work 4 2/3 perfect innings in relief of starter Doug Still, who kept UCA in check over his 4 1/3 frames to help the Bears run their win streak to eight games. Fromson retired all 10 batters he faced after taking the mound with the bases loaded and just one out in the fifth. The junior right-hander induced an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play to preserve a three-run lead, then struck out four hitters over the ensuing three innings.

Lochner closed out the victory with a 1-2-3 ninth, giving the Bears their fourth shutout in their last five games. The win also extended MSU’s impressive home field record since the start of the 2015 season, as the Bears won for the 27th time in their last 31 non-conference outings at Hammons Field.

After being out-hit by UCA in each of the first two games of the series, the Missouri State offense clicked into gear with 11 total hits in the finale. Four different Bears recorded multi-hit games, led by Jeremy Eierman’s 2-for-4 day that included his third home run in as many games in the series. Jake Burger hit his fourth homer of the season as part of his 2-for-3 afternoon, while both Aaron Meyer and Hunter Steinmetz added two-hit games as well.

Just as they did in Saturday’s 5-3 victory over UCA (6-6), the Bears relied on the long ball to take command of the contest. Burger launched his second homer in as many days to open the scoring in the fourth, powering a 3-1 Brandon Hagerla offering over the Bears’ bullpen in left field for a 1-0 lead. Justin Paulsen followed with a double into the right-center field gap, before Eierman smashed a first-pitch, two-run shot off the manual scoreboard in left to make it a three-run MSU cushion.

Drew Millas added to the Bears’ lead with a pinch-hit, RBI single in the sixth, after Eierman singled and swiped second to start the inning.

Still managed to keep UCA off the scoreboard in the early innings, using the combination of five strikeouts and a pair of critical twin-killings to thwart scoring opportunities in three consecutive innings. After the left-hander dealt back-to-back walks to Michael Haun and Ty Tice to load the bases with one out in the fifth, Fromson needed just two pitches to coax a sharp ground to third, where Burger initiated the Bears’ third double-play of the day.

The Bears next travel to Stillwater, Okla., Tuesday (March 7) for a 4 p.m. match-up against Oklahoma State.

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