Box Score SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Missouri State utilized a six-run second inning to take control of Saturday's game early and the Bears held off the Indiana State offense throughout the game in securing the 10-3 win at Hammons Field.
The Sycamores (22-28, 10-13) rallied back midway through the game with
Jorge Cartagena connecting on a two-run home run to left field in the fourth inning to put Indiana State on the board.
Eli Gipson scored on a two-base throwing error in the fifth to cut the Bears' (27-21, 17-6) lead down to 6-3 in the middle frames.
Missouri State regained the momentum in the fifth on Caden Bogenpohl's two-run home run to left to stretch the lead back to 8-3 and Zack Stewart and Tyler Epstein added RBI singles in the sixth to provide all the run support the Bears' staff would need in securing the series win.
The Bears took the early 6-0 lead in the second inning sparked by Carter Bergman scoring on a wild pitch. Epstein and Curry Sutherland connected on back-to-back home runs in the inning, while Nick Rodriguez doubled and scored a run to highlight 11 batters that went to the plate over the inning.
Nomar Garcia had two of Indiana State's seven hits in the contest, while
Alex Nevils doubled and Cartagena doubled in the loss.
Grant Parson (2-4) took the loss allowing five hits and six runs while striking out one.
Colby Morse,
Brady Banker,
Zac Laird, and
Cole Chace were all effective on the mound in relief combining to allow just one run over 5.2 innings in relief while adding three strikeouts.
Epstein paced the Missouri State offense going 4-for-5 from the plate as the Bears connected on 14 hits overall in the win. Stewart added a three-hit game with Bogenpohl, Epstein, and Sutherland homering on Saturday.
Michael Yusypchuk (4-2) took the win going 5.0 innings allowing four hits and three runs (two earned) while striking out four. Owen Slater, Garrett Ferguson, Brody McNiel, and Jake Syverson combined to go four shutout innings in relief.
How They Scored
- Missouri State sent 11 batters to the plate with six runs coming across in the bottom of the second inning to give the Bears the early lead. Tyler Epstein and Curry Sutherland both homered in the inning, while Nick Rodriguez doubled and scored in the inning to highlight the Bears' rally.
- The Sycamores took two runs back in the top of the fourth inning as Jorge Cartagena connected on a two-run home run over the left field wall and into the Indiana State bullpen driving home Jeremy Martinez to cut the deficit down to 6-2.
- Indiana State added a run in the top of the fifth inning as Eli Gipson came around to score on a Missouri State throwing error to cut the lead down to 6-3.
- Caden Bogenpohl added to the Missouri State lead in the bottom of the fifth inning with a two-run home run to left field scoring Epstein to make it an 8-3 lead.
- Zack Stewart and Epstein connected on a pair of RBI singles in the bottom of the sixth inning scoring Max Knight and Carter Bergman to provide the final 10-3 scoring margin.
News & Notes
- Indiana State (10-13) remains a game ahead of Bradley (9-14) and 1.5 games up on Evansville (9-15) in the Missouri Valley standings following Saturday's contests.
- Jorge Cartagena connected on his second home run of the 2025 season with a two-run shot in the fourth inning. It marked his first homer since going deep on February 16 against Wagner.
- Alex Nevils connected on his first extra-base hit of the 2025 season after connecting on double to left center in the eighth inning.
Up Next
Indiana State closes out the weekend series in Springfield, Mo. against the Bears with Sunday afternoon's 2 p.m. ET first pitch at Hammons Field. The game will be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
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