A season ago, Missouri State went into the final series of the season against Illinois State looking to sweep in order to tie for a last-place finish in the Missouri Valley.
This season, Missouri State went into the final series of the season against Illinois State as the MVC regular-season champions while looking to stay undefeated in the conference.
They had to battle to do it, but clutch pitching kept Missouri State’s undefeated conference record alive.
The Bears (37-14, 18-0) survived in an 8-5 win over the Redbirds behind the right arm of Jake Fromson.
Fromson entered the game in the fourth inning with runners at the corners.