DALLAS – Dylan Coleman blanked Evansville on four hits to lift Missouri State to an opening-game 10-0, seven-inning victory at the Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Championship Wednesday afternoon at Horner Ballpark.
In his first complete-game shutout as a Bear, Coleman (10-2) allowed just two hits over the first six innings, giving MSU ample time to build its double-digit margin. The junior right-hander overtook Bears legend Nick Petree for the No. 2 position on the school’s career strikeout list with his nine punchouts, raising his three-year total to 310. He also became the ninth Bear hurler to win 10 games in a season with his 24th career mound victory.
The Missouri State offense clicked early, using back-to-back two-run rallies in the second and third innings to seize control of the contest. Brooks Zimmerman hammered a two-out, two-run home run in the second to put the Bears on the board, before Logan Geha’s leadoff double sparked another two-run spurt the following frame. Three walks from UE starter Austin Ruesch (2-4) aided in the rally, the last of which to Ben Whetstone forced home a run. Jack Duffy’s sac fly produced a second run, giving the Bears a 4-0 cushion.
Another key at-bat from Duffy kicked off a six-run sixth that put the game on ice for MSU. The sophomore outfielder drove a leadoff triple off the center field wall, before a Ryan Skalnik double, a pair of walks, a wild pitch and a hit batsman brought in the first run of the inning. Drew Millas beat out a two-out infield chopper to plate another tally, and Whetstone cleared the bases with a three-run double to right-center.
Coleman would cruise to the finish line, retiring 10 of 11 Aces during one stretch covering the third through the seventh innings. A pair of two-out singles and a walk gave the Aces life in the final inning, but the Bears’ ace fanned Troy Beilsmith for the second time to extinguish the threat and complete MSU’s second shutout of the season.
Zimmerman and Whetstone combined to drive in seven of the Bears’ 10 runs, while Hunter Steinmetz reached safely in three of his four trips to the plate.
The top-seeded Bears (36-15) will continue their quest for the fourth MVC Championship crown in program history Thursday (May 24), with a 4 p.m. contest against No. 4 Indiana State at Horner Ballpark.
