RUSTON, La. – Missouri State dropped the first two games of its Conference USA series at Louisiana Tech Saturday, falling in the resumption of Friday’s game by a 9-2 final before dropping Saturday’s regularly-scheduled game 6-5 at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.
The Bears fall to 26-14 overall and 14-6 in CUSA play while dropping just their third series in 11 weekends this season. LA Tech improved to 26-18 and 13-7 in league play.
Bryce Cermenelli had two hits in each game to extend his hitting streak to 23 games, tying the sixth-best in program history.
The series concludes at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Game 1 Recap (Louisiana Tech won, 9-2)
LA Tech jumped on the Bears early Friday evening with a six-run first that included four doubles and a triple and added a solo homer in the second to make it 7-0.
The Bears scored on a Curry Sutherland sacrifice fly in the fourth that followed Caden Bogenpohl’s leadoff double and advancement on a wild pitch, and got a solo home run from Carter Bergman (12th) in the fifth for a 7-2 deficit.
The Bulldogs had a pair of two-out singles around a walk in the sixth to push the margin to 8-2 with their first hits since the second inning, and lightning forced a suspension until Saturday.
Upon resumption, LA Tech scored a run in the seventh for the 9-2 final.
Mo State freshman Adyn Schell pitched a career-long three innings of relief and yielded just the second-inning homer.
Game 2 Recap (Louisiana Tech won, 6-5)
The Bears played catchup all afternoon and nearly overcame a third two-run deficit when the game ended on a play at the plate.
The Bulldogs scored two in the third and held the Bears off the scoreboard until Sutherland’s 14th homer of the season made it 2-2 in the sixth.
LA Tech hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the sixth and added one more on a double and sac fly, then the Bears pulled even again on a Charlie Carter RBI single and Sutherland RBI HBP in the seventh.
Bogenpohl kept it at 4-4 in the seventh by throwing out the go-ahead run at home with his second outfield assist of the game, but LA Tech hit three doubles in the eighth for a 6-4 lead.
In the Mo State ninth, Jax Ryan led off with a walk, Logan Fyffe was hit by a pitch with two outs, and Sutherland doubled to the wall in right center to drive in Ryan before Fyffe was thrown out at the plate to end the game.
Jason Schaaf went five innings in the start, striking out five without a walk in the no decision. Max Knight (5-1) suffered his first loss of the year as one of five Missouri State relievers.
