Baseball Suffers 5-1 Road Loss at Missouri State on Friday Morning

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Belmont University baseball team continued their tough stretch of road games with a 5-1 loss to Missouri State on Friday morning at Hammons Field in Springfield, Missouri. 

Jordan Zuger (L, 2-5) and Will Pryor were able to contain a dangerous Missouri State lineup to just five runs, but Hayden Minton tossed a complete game on the other side and frustrated Bruin hitters to the tune of one run on five hits. 

Zuger retired the first nine batters he faced before running into trouble in the fourth inning, with a three-run homer putting Missouri State (21-16, 10-4 MVC) on the board first. 

Minton retired the first 11 Belmont batters before Mason Landers broke the single with a base hit to right field. Blake Barton then recorded the first of his two hits with a single to shallow center field. 

Barton ended his day 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI. 

Missouri State hit another home run to lead off the fifth inning, forcing Zuger's exit and the arrival of Pryor. 

The freshman right-hander recorded a strikeout to send the game to the sixth inning with Missouri State leading, 4-0. 

Jack Rando got aboard to lead off the sixth on a throwing error from the home third baseman, then stole second base. 

Barton cranked a frozen rope off the right field fence and got all the way to third base for a two-out, RBI triple that scored Rando and made it 4-1 in favor of the Bears. 

Pryor kept Belmont in the game from the mound for the duration, allowing one more Bear run in the eighth inning, but finishing his outing with 3.2 innings in relief with only two hits allowed and four strikeouts to just one walk. 

Belmont put two men on with two outs in the ninth inning, as Max Jones drew a walk and Chase Katafias singled to center field. 

However, Minton was able to record the final out to clinch the series win for Missouri State, their eighth straight victory in MVC play. 
Belmont limited Missouri State to just six hits while recording five hits of their own, but the two long balls for the Bears proved to be the difference. 

Up Next 

Belmont closes out the series against Missouri State on Saturday morning. 

First pitch has been moved up 15 minutes and is now scheduled for 10:45 a.m. 

While there will not be a video stream of the game, live audio play-by-play will be streamed on the Bruin Sports Network, and live stats will be available on BelmontBruins.com. 

Follow Belmont baseball on social media - @BelmontBaseball on Twitter and @belmontbaseball on Instagram - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.                  

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