14-15, 4-6
Missouri State
19-9, 7-3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Houston | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 1 |
| Missouri State | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 12 | 0 |
Bears walk off Kats in thriller
4/3/2026 9:46:00 PM | Baseball
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Sam Houston Bearkats erased a 5-run deficit in the final two innings, but the Missouri State Bears hit a walk-off solo homer to open the ninth inning and pull out a 9-8 win on Friday night at Hammons Field.
Missouri State (19-9, 7-3 CUSA) homered four times – twice by Brant Kragel – in the game and pounded out 14 hits to move to 13-0 on its home turf with the win. Each of Kragel's blasts came in leadoff fashion, including the walk-off shot on the first pitch of the ninth.
The Kats' (14-15, 4-6 CUSA) bats came to life in the late innings, outhitting the Bears by a 14-12 margin. Hunter Alvord delivered his first multi-homer game as a Bearkat, while Caleb Cotton and Sean Bazmore had three hits apiece.
Alvord's second blast, a 2-run shot in the ninth inning drew SHSU to within 8-7, but it was Addison Smith's second RBI single of the night that tied it up, plating Bazmore with the tying run.
The comeback got starter Ryan Peterson off the hook for the loss after the righty punched out seven in 5.2 innings of work, allowing five runs on seven hits against a Bears' heavy-handed offense which finished with half of its dozen hits going for extra bases.
Cooper Harris followed and struck out three in 2.1 innings of relief, while Zak Johnson took the loss after allowing the leadoff blast in the ninth.
For Missouri State, Ross Felder was strong on the starting bump for Missouri State, striking out a career-high nine hitters in 6.0 innings of work. Bear pitching racked up 16 strikeouts on the night, including a pair from Max Knight who moved to 5-0 with the win in relief.
The Bears got single runs against Peterson in each of the first two innings before the Bearkat starter was able to throw up a zero in the third. Jeric Curtis saved a run on a play at the wall in center field off the bat of Caden Bogenpohl, bringing back a homer, but Curry Sutherland followed the double with an RBI single.
Smith got the run back with a 2-out RBI single in the top of the second, but the deadlock was short-lived as the Bears' Brant Kragel put MOST back up 2-1 when he blasted the first pitch of the second inning out to right-center field.
Peterson used a double play to work a scoreless fourth inning, but an error in the fifth extended the inning and Kragel drew a bases-loaded walk to push the lead back to 3-1.
Alvord got that run back in the top of the sixth with a no-doubt solo homer to straightaway center field, but Taeg Gollert answered back for the Bears in the bottom half of the frame when he chased Peterson with a 2-run homer to left field to up the lead to 5-2.
Missouri State added another run in the inning and had to work out of a jam in the seventh when reliever Trent Ash walked the bases loaded. The Bears went to the pen for Michael Yusypchuk Cotton beat out an infield single for a run, but the righty was able to get Alvord on strikes with the bases loaded to keep the home team in front.
The Bears responded again in the home half of the inning with a 2-run homer by Max Knight, but then Sam Houston finally was able to get it going against the Bear bullpen.
After reliever Trent Ash had walked the bases loaded in the eighth, Jace Martinez delivered a 2-run single with two outs to cut it to 8-5. Cotton then led off the ninth with a triple and Alvord followed by blasting his second longball of the night out to center, drawing SHSU to within a run.
Bazmore and Ryan Franden each followed by reaching base and Smith delivered in the clutch when he bounded a ball over Sutherland's glove at third base for the game-tying hit. Knight was able to follow with consecutive outs to stop the rally, setting the stage for Kragel's shot in the final frame.
UP NEXT
Sam Houston will try to even the series on Saturday afternoon at Hammons Field. The second game of the series is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. first pitch and is set to be broadcast on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Max Knight (5-0)
L: Johnson, Zak (2-1)
Batting:
2B: Franden, Ryan 1
3B: Cotton, Caleb 1
HR: Alvord, Hunter 2
RBI: Cotton, Caleb 1 ; Alvord, Hunter 3 ; Smith, Addison 2 ; Martinez, Jace 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Cotton, Caleb 1 ; Alvord, Hunter 2 ; Bazmore, Sean 2 ; Corcoran, Cade 1 ; Franden, Ryan 2
CS: Cotton, Caleb 1
HBP: Franden, Ryan 1 ; Baker, Wes 1
Batting:
2B: Caden Bogenpohl 2
HR: Taeg Gollert 1 ; Brant Kragel 2 ; Max Knight 1
RBI: Taeg Gollert 2 ; Curry Sutherland 2 ; Brant Kragel 3 ; Max Knight 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Bryce Cermenelli 1 ; Taeg Gollert 1 ; Caden Bogenpohl 2 ; Brant Kragel 2 ; Jax Ryan 1 ; Max Knight 2
HBP: Curry Sutherland 1
