THE LEAD
No. 13 Dallas Baptist overcame a 3-0 deficit in the ninth inning before eventually falling 4-3 to Missouri State on a wild pitch that scored the game winning run in the tenth on Friday night at Hammons Field in Springfield, Missouri.  The loss hands the Bears the series win over DBU (23-5, 5-3) and their second consecutive one-run loss to Missouri State on the weekend.
 
Faced with the challenge of seeing the Missouri Valley Conference's top pitcher in terms of earned run average on the mound, the Patriots were unable to muster a run across the plate through the first eight innings versus the Bears' Jon Harris.  The junior right-hander struck out 11 and gave up just three hits on the night through eight-and-one-third innings of work.
 
DBU's Cory Taylor kept Missouri State (20-7, 4-1) at bay through the first two innings before the Bears struck for two in the third.  Down 2-0 into the seventh, a solo home run off the bat of MSU's Jake Burger extended the Bears' lead to three, as Taylor made his exit after six-and-two-third innings on the hill.  The junior righty allowed three earned runs on the night while matching a season-high with eight strikeouts. 
 
Going into the ninth trailing 3-0, Harris hit the first batter he faced in Camden Duzenack.  Justin Wall followed with a double to right, putting runners at second and third with nobody out.  With Daniel Salters at the plate, a ground out to short plated the Patriots' first run of the night. 
 
Down 3-1, Tagg Duce's ground ball to third was bobbled by Jake Burger and a wild throw allowed Wall to score and move Duce to second.  A wild pitch by Harris then pushed the tying run to third.  On a 3-1 count, Trooper Reynolds ripped a grounder to third, where a diving stop was made by Burger, but a wild throw brought home the tying run.  With the go-ahead run standing in scoring position, a sharp liner into left-center by Chane Lynch was robbed on a diving catch by the Bears' center fielder, Tate Matheny, keeping the game tied at three.
 
As the game moved into extra innings, Missouri State threatened when Aaron Meyer laced a one-out single off of Brandon Koch into center.  Spencer Johnson would follow with a bloop hit into left-center, allowing Meyer to go from first to third.  With the game-winning run standing ninety feet away, a wild pitch from Koch allowed Meyer to sprint home and spoil the Patriots' bid for a dramatic comeback.
 
DBU HEAD COACH, DAN HEEFNER – ON THE LOSS
"It's always tough when you lose one when you're on defense like this one, but there's nothing you can second guess there.  We had the right guy in there for that situation and that's the pitch he has to throw."
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
7 – Total number of one-run games that DBU and Missouri State have played since last year.
3 – Total number of extra-base hits by the two teams combined (DBU: 2 Doubles  MSU: 1 Home Run)
23 – Total number of strikeouts by the two pitching staffs (DBU: 10  MSU: 13)
 
UP NEXT
DBU and Missouri State conclude their three-game series on Saturday.  First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 pm.