KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Missouri State overcame an early 6-1 deficit to take a lead after six innings, then trailed again 9-7 before a four-run eighth swung the game the Bears’ way for good, with Zack Stewart’s three-run homer completing the comeback for an 11-9 victory over Omaha at Urban Youth Academy.
Stewart’s 10th homer of the season extended Missouri State’s (27-16) win streak to eight games, its longest since March 2018, and gave the freshman outfielder 54 RBI on the year, trailing only Ryan Howard (66 in 1999) among freshmen in school history.
The top four in the Bears’ lineup – Nick Rodriguez, Spencer Nivens, Mason Hull, and Stewart combined to go 10-for-17 with three walks and seven RBI to spark the big offensive night, with Rodriguez and Nivens collecting three hits each and Nivens becoming the first Bear since April 2019 with two triples in a game.
Omaha (16-21) led 6-2 after two innings and carried that margin into the fifth when MoState began to chip away. The first four Bears in the fifth reached and three scored courtesy of RBI singles by Hull and Stewart and an RBI ground out from Cody Kelly.
Socci, who homered in the second, led off the sixth with a double and scored the tying run on a Rodriguez single before Izzy Lopez came home on a wild pitch for MSU’s first lead at 7-6.
Omaha answered back with three hits for an 8-7 lead in the seventh and added another run in the eighth after a leadoff single came around.
Rodriguez knocked a leadoff single to set the tone in the eighth, Nivens drove him in with a triple and Hull walked before Stewart blasted the game-winning homer deep into the Kansas City night.
The Bears used six pitchers in the contest and combined to strike out 13 Mavericks, with Scott Youngbrandt (3-2) getting the win and Garrett Ferguson tossing a scoreless ninth for his fifth save.
Missouri State heads to Murray State May 5-7 for a Missouri Valley Conference road series.
