Behind Missouri State baseball's late rally to beat Grand Canyon and stay alive in NCAA Tournament

STILLWATER, Okla. — Down 7-1 heading into the eighth inning, Missouri State scored seven unanswered runs including five in the ninth to come away with an improbable victory to keep its season alive.

Missouri State hit three home runs in the final two innings for an 8-7 win over Grand Canyon in an elimination game at the Stillwater Regional in the 2022 NCAA Baseball Tournament.

The Bears will play in another elimination game on Sunday at noon against the loser of Saturday night's winner's bracket game between Oklahoma State and Arkansas. The Cowboys beat the Bears 10-5 to open the regional on Friday night.

Drake Baldwin, Spencer Nivens and Mason Hull each hit a home run over the last two innings with Hull hitting the go-ahead two-run shot down the left-field line with no outs in the ninth.

More: How Mason Hull etched his name in Missouri State history with his game-winning homer in NCAA Tournament

"We had the right guys up and they delivered," 40th-year head coach Keith Guttin said. "They delivered. Our guys are gritty and they have no quit."

The rally came after what had been a frustrating first seven innings which limited the Bears to just two hits and included an ejection to first-year hitting coach Joey Hawkins. Frustration boiled after a pair of questionable calls but the Bears were nothing but smiles in the end.

Two runs came after a questionable call when the home-plate umpire ruled a ball was hit foul instead of just being hit off the plate which would have made it a fair ball. With two outs, Guttin argued the ruling. The next batter hit a two-run homer which led Guttin to argue even more but he managed to stay in the game.

Missouri State's lone run of the first seven innings came on a Baldwin RBI single in the third but Grand Canyon added three in the bottom half with Juan Colato and Tayler Aguilar each hitting home runs for a combined three runs. Aguilar added another run with an RBI single in the fifth for the five-run advantage.

Hawkins, coaching third base, was tossed in the sixth after a third-strike appeal was ruled in Grand Canyon's favor for the third out of the Bears' inning. After he returned to the dugout, more noise came from the Bears' direction causing the third-base umpire to eject him.

The Bears didn't allow the frustration of the game to get to them.

"It's the same thing we've seen all year," Guttin said. "We had our ups-and-downs. We've had some great wins and we've had some tough losses. We've had a steady group with great player leadership."

A sigh of relief came from the Bears in the top of the seventh when Grand Canyon starting pitcher Nick Hull's day came to an end. He struck out 10 and only allowed two hits in 6.1 innings.

Grand Canyon's bullpen couldn't get the job done even after adding another run with a solo homer for the six-run advantage. Baldwin hit a solo home run in the top of the eighth to give the Bears a pulse. MSU reliever Jake McMahill was excellent in 4.2 innings while allowing just three hits and allowing one earned run to give the Bears a chance.

"McMahill was obviously terrific in relief," Guttin said.

The top of the ninth started with Will Duff getting hit by a pitch and Walker Jenkins taking a walk. Nivens put a three-run home run over the right-field wall to bring the game within one.

Baldwin followed with a slow chopper to the GCU second-baseman who couldn't corral it in for an error. Greer then delivered one of the more memorable hits in Missouri State history with the go-ahead, two-run home run down the left-field line.

"It's one of the reasons I came here," Hull said. "I came here to play in the postseason and it's so special."

McMahill delivered in the ninth by getting the three outs that Guttin said are always the hardest after an emotional frame right before. The Evansville transfer stayed calm and forced a fly ball to left-center that landed in Nivens' glove for the third out and improbable comeback and to live another day.

"We know what we're capable of," Hull said. "It doesn't matter who we're playing or what the score is. We're just going to keep doing us."

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the co-host of Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: NCAA Baseball Tournament: Missouri State rallies to beat Grand Canyon