Missouri State improves MVC record to 12-0 with win at Southern Illinois

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Eric Doennig (MSU Sports Information) CARBONDALE, Ill. – Missouri State stretched its Missouri Valley Conference regular-season win streak to 16-straight games with a 7-5 come-from-behind victory over Southern Illinois Friday evening at Itchy Jones Stadium. The Bears scratched out an eighth-inning run to tie the game, before a Jake Burger sacrifice fly in the ninth plated the go-ahead run and Bryan Young closed out the victory for his 32nd career save.

Jack Duffy doubled twice as part of a 3-for-4 night, including a key ninth-inning shot into the left-center field gap that chased home Justin Paulsen with a critical insurance run. The freshman drove in a career-best three runs, while fellow MSU rookie Drew Millas brought in two runs with his 2-for-5 effort at the plate.

The Missouri State pitching staff also played a starring role in the Bears’ 12th-consecutive win to start the 2017 conference season, as a trio of pitchers combined to hold the Salukis (23-24, ,6-7 MVC) hitless over the final five innings. Starter Jordan Knutson retired the final seven batters he faced, before Jake Fromson sat down all six Salukis he encountered.

Young would strike out the first two hitters of the ninth before a two-out walk gave SIU its first baserunner since the fourth inning and brought the potential tying run to the plate. But the All-American blew a third strike past Connor Kopach to extinguish the threat and secure his fifth save of the season.

The Bears (31-14, 12-0 MVC) appeared to be poised to run away with an easy decision and extend their best-ever MVC start after posting a pair of two-run rallies in the second and third innings. A one-out walk to Blake Graham gave MSU its first baserunner of the game in the second, before three consecutive singles turned a 1-0 SIU lead into a one-run Bears advantage. Duffy delivered the first of his three hits, before Alex Jefferson and Millas each followed with run-producing hits to put MSU in front for the first time.

Paulsen absorbed a Chad Whitmer pitch to lead off the third, before a Jeremy Eierman single put runners at first and second. After Whitmer fanned Graham for the second out, Duffy came through again with a double into the right-center field gap to chase home both baserunners for a 4-1 MSU lead.

But the Salukis battled back with four of their own in the bottom of the third, highlighted by Jake Hand’s three-run homer to left that erased the MSU lead with one swing. A one-out throwing error opened the door for SIU, before Knutson dealt a walk to Greg Lambert to set up Hand’s fourth home run of the season.

Nick Hutchins sparked a second SIU rally in the third with a two-out single, before Will Farmer’s double moved him to third and a passed ball brought the runner home with the go-ahead run.

From there, Whitmer settled into a groove to keep the Bears off the scoreboard through the seventh. The right-hander struck out 12 hitters, allowing four runs on seven hits and just one walk through his 7.0 frames.

But a three walks from the SIU bullpen set the table for the Bears’ eighth-inning rally, as Millas’s bases-loaded grounder deep in the hole at shortstop allowed Eierman to score the equalizing run from third.

MSU went to work immediately in the ninth, getting a leadoff walk to Hunter Steinmetz and a double off the right-field wall by Paulsen to kick its offense back into gear. Burger then lifted a fly ball to center, just deep enough to bring in Steinmetz with what would prove to be the winning tally. A two-out walk to Graham extended the rally, and Duffy made SIU pay, driving his second two-bagger of the game into the left-center field gap to make it a 7-5 affair.

Fromson (6-3) earned the victory with 2.0 perfect innings over which he fanned three Salukis, following six effective innings from Knutson. The senior lefty scattered seven hits and struck out five while allowing just three earned runs (five total runs).

Both Hutchins and Ryan Smith delivered two-hit games for SIU, which dropped its fourth-straight game with the setback. Jacob Williams (1-2) suffered the loss after surrendering the tying and go-ahead runs in his one-third of an inning.

The Bears and Salukis will continue their series with game two Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m., before wrapping up the weekend Sunday with a 1 p.m. game.

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