COLUMBIA, Mo. – The North Dakota State baseball team dropped both games of a doubleheader at Missouri, falling 5-3 in game one and 7-5 in game two on Saturday afternoon at Taylor Stadium.
The Tigers (10-2) opened the scoring in game one, pushing across two runs in the bottom of the first, coming from a sacrifice fly and a bases-loaded walk. The Bison (1-10) responded quickly, as
Tommy Simon smashed an RBI double to deep left center field, scoring
Cal Jones from first base in the top of the second.
Colten Becker lifted a 396-foot solo home run to right field in the top of the third to tie the score 2-2, and
Dante Smith followed up with an RBI single in the fifth to take the lead.
The Tigers came right back in the bottom of the fifth, starting the inning with an error, walk, and bunt single to load the bases. They then scored two, one off a fielder's choice and one from a single, regaining the lead 5-3. The Bison put men on in the sixth and the seventh innings, but went down in order in both the eighth and ninth, dropping the contest 5-3.
Smith recorded two hits on three at-bats, adding on a walk and an RBI. Becker finished 1-1, with two walks and his third inning home run.
Brayden Marks made his third start of the year for the Bison. He threw 5.0 innings with five runs allowed, also walking five.
Sheamus Ryan came in for Marks in relief, finishing off the game with three strong innings, allowing no runs on four hits.
Game two started with two scoreless innings, before
Tyman Long crushed his first home run for the Bison in the top of the third to take a 1-0 lead. Missouri created danger in the bottom of the fourth, putting two men in scoring position. The Tigers took the lead thanks to three singles and a walk, going up 3-1. A fielding error the next inning gave the Tigers another run, and a 4-1 lead.
The Bison stormed right back in the sixth after a single from
Caleb Corbin and a double by
Colten Becker before
Dante Smith ripped a two RBI double down the left base line, cutting the lead to one. NDSU loaded the bases up for
Cal Jones, who smacked a single into center field to tie the game. After a pop out and a strikeout,
Tyman Long came to the plate. He wouldn't have to swing the bat for NDSU to take back the lead however, as
Noah Gordon took advantage of a lull from the Tigers to take off from third and steal home, giving the Bison a 5-4 lead.
Missouri broke through again in the bottom of the eighth, bringing home three runs off a couple of singles, regaining the lead 7-5. Long led off the ninth inning with a single to left field, but the Bison went down in order after that, falling 7-5 to cap off the doubleheader.
NDSU tallied 10 hits in game two, with Long leading the way going 2-5 with a solo home run. Corbin and Becker both tacked on two hits as well.
Jonah Walker tossed 4.0 innings in his third start of the season, recording four strikeouts and surrendering three runs on three hits.
Braden Gluth threw a third of an inning, allowing one run on two walks and a hit.
Easton Reimers threw 2.2 innings with three strikeouts and only one hit allowed, but three walks proved costly as he gave up three runs.
Hudson Hart closed out the game for the Bison, tossing the final inning and striking out three.
The Bison will be back in action taking on Southern Illinois in a two-game midweek series. First pitch on Tuesday is set for 3 p.m.
