Illinois State jumped out to a 5-0 lead over Missouri State in the first inning of their matchup Sunday morning in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Hammons Field.
The top-seeded Bears had three errors and a wild pitch in the first inning to help the eighth-seeded Redbirds get ahead.
The winner of Sunday morning's game will move on to face Dallas Baptist at 3 p.m. in the championship game.
The Bears (40-16) won the Valley's regular season title, and the Redbirds (15-39) finished last in the Valley standings. But the teams have split their four matchups this year.