TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State dropped the opening game of a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series as Missouri State used a four-run fourth inning to stymie the Sycamores, 7-1, Friday afternoon at Price Field.
 
The two teams would trade home run in the second inning before Missouri State (29-19, 13-10) would score six unanswered runs to pull away with the win. Amanda Guercio, with a solo blast to center in the bottom of the second, scored Indiana State's lone run.
 
The Sycamores (16-33, 4-20) best chances at battling back came in the third when ISU stranded two runners in scoring position. That represented what was, at that point, the tying runs after the Bears scored two runs in the top half of the inning on a Daphne Plummer two-run single, taking the 3-1 lead. Plummer led MSU with a 3-for-4 performance with three RBI.
 
Stranding the two runners – two of the six Indiana State left on base – was costly as Missouri State continued its scoring the fourth with four runs on five hits while also taking advantage of a Sycamore error, pushing the lead to 7-1. MSU threatened again in the sixth but Sycamore catcher Brooke Mann caught pinch runner Ashton Thomas attempting to steal for the final out.
 
Gabbi Schnaiter (9-14) was charged with the loss after allowing five runs on five hits in 3.0 innings, walking three and striking out two. Steffany Dickerson (19-10) claimed the win after allowing one run on seven hits in 6.0 innings. She did not issue a walk and struck out four batters.
 
PLAYER OF THE GAME
With her powerful bat vexing the Bears, Amanda Guercio claims this honor as both of her hits were for extra bases, including her fifth home run of the season. That solo shot came in the second inning for the Sycamores.
 
STAT OF THE GAME
Catching pinch runner Ashton Thomas in the fifth inning, Brooke Mann threw out her 17^th runner attempting to steal on the Sycamore catcher. That number leads the Missouri Valley Conference and is a single season school record.
 
PITCHERS OF RECORD

• Win: Steffany Dickerson, Missouri State (19-10)
• Loss: Gabbi Schnaiter, Indiana State (9-14)
• Save: None

 
RECORDS UPDATE

• Indiana State: 16-33 (4-20 MVC)
• Missouri State: 29-19 (13-10 MVC)

NOTABLES

• Amanda Guercio hit her fifth home run of the season. She led the Sycamores in the game with two extra-base hits.
• Brooke Mann threw out her 17^th runner attempting to steal on the senior catcher this season.
• With a 2-for-3 performance at the plate, Becky Malchow registered her first multiple-hit game since March 27 at Purdue.
• Indiana State is now 27-63 all-time against Missouri State with a 10-26 mark in Terre Haute.

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