SPRINGFIELD – Six Oral Roberts pitchers combined to shut out Missouri State 4-0 Tuesday evening at Hammons Field to close a four-game home stand for the Bears.
ORU (16-9) scored a run in the first inning on two singles and an RBI ground out, added two more in the fifth after four straight batters reached when the bases were empty with two out, and turned a leadoff triple into a run in the eighth for the final margin.
The Bears (11-12) were not without the chances with multiple scoring opportunities squelched by solid ORU defensive plays.
In the bottom of the first, Missouri State had two singles and Zack Stewart’s Missouri Valley Conference-leading 11th double of the season but came up empty-handed when the lead runner was thrown out at home on Stewart’s two-bagger.
The Bears had runners on second and third with no outs in the fifth when a sharp liner to third resulted in a double play to end the momentum, and stranded a runner on second in the seventh frame.
MSU got solid performances from a pair of freshman relievers in the back end of the game, with Garrett Ferguson yielding a run on one hit in 3.1 innings and Corbin Bassham tossing a 1-2-3 ninth.
Spencer Nivens saw his streak of 24 games reaching safely come to an end, and a second streak of at least that length in 84 career games.
Missouri State hits the road this weekend for a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series at Illinois State, scheduled for March 31-April 2 in Normal.
