The Valparaiso University baseball team fell 12-2 to Missouri State on Saturday afternoon at Hammons Field in Springfield, Mo. The Bears put up crooked numbers in three of their seven trips to the plate, scoring four times in the bottom of the seventh to increase the margin to 10 and invoke the 10-run rule. 

How It Happened

• Missouri State took the lead in the bottom of the first on a three-run homer by Zack Stewart.
• Valpo threatened in the top of the second with runners at second and third and one out, but couldn’t push across a run. They had another quality chance in the third, but left the bags full.
• Missouri State added to the lead with one in the third, then a three-run homer by Spencer Nivens in the fourth widened the lead to 7-0.
• Valpo got on the board by pushing across two runs in the fifth, the first of which scored on a double play and the second on a throwing error on a dropped third strike.
• Missouri State picked up a run in the sixth to extend the lead to 8-2.
• The Bears scored four times in the bottom of the seventh to invoke the 10-run rule.

Inside the Game

• Valpo was led offensively by Ryan Maka (Oak Forest, Ill. / Oak Forest), who accounted for two of the team’s five hits. This marked his 10^th multi-hit game of the year, making him the third Valpo player with 10 or more multi-hit outputs.
• Maka has had multiple hits in four of his last five games and five of his last seven. 
• The team played error-free baseball for the 16^th time this season.

Up Next

Valpo (16-17, 7-9 MVC) and Missouri State will close the series at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.