BOLIVAR, Mo. -- The baseball Bearcats earned a split against Minnesota State-Mankato after dropping the first game 6-1, then rallying back to take the second game, 6-5.

SBU’s offense started out cold in the first game, producing only one run on two hits. Left fielder Kyle Wise drove in the Bearcats only run, with a sacrifice fly in the third inning. The SBU pitching was strong, with starter Ray Kelly only allowing four hits over six innings, but five errors throughout the game proved to put the lead out of reach.

The Bearcats suffered a rough start in the second game as well, giving up a three-run home run in the top of the first inning. The score stayed 3-0 until the bottom of the fourth inning, when Justin Barnhart hit a three-run shot to left field to tie the game. SBU took the lead later in the inning, when Caleb Dudley doubled to center field, driving in Brendon Cox to make the score 4-3.

Minnesota State came right back in the top of the fifth, with a leadoff home run to tie the game again, then taking the lead, 5-4, on a wild pitch. In the bottom half of the inning, SBU answered back, when Wise hit a triple to center field, driving in Jason Asher to tie the game at 5, then scoring himself when Minnesota State threw the ball away.

With a 6-5 lead, sophomore pitcher Kyle Guemmer got out of a jam in the sixth inning, and senior Bobby McMillin came on in the seventh to get the save.

“We needed that second game; we needed to bounce back after that first one,” said coach Sam Berg. “Justin Barnhart kept his chin up after some errors in the first one, and had the big home run for us later. Caleb Dudley did a great job in his first start, and got a big hit for us, too.”

The games against Minnesota State on Saturday February 21st  have been cancelled due to cold weather. The Bearcats next face off against Washburn, in a doubleheader on Friday, February 27th, in Bolivar. First pitch is scheduled for noon.

MSU 6, SBU 1
SBU 6, MSU 5