Missouri State staved off elimination Thursday afternoon with a come-from-behind win over Southern Illinois in the conference tournament at Hammons Field.
The Bears erased a 3-0 deficit to defeat SIU 13-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference baseball tournament in eight innings.
Missouri State (38-16) will play in the next round of the tournament Friday at 12:30 p.m. against the loser of Thursday night’s late game between Wichita State and Illinois State.
Early on, it looked like Missouri State was headed for a stunningly quick tournament exit.
The Bears lost to last-place Illinois State in a weather-delayed tournament opener, and they fell behind Southern Illinois 3-0 in the second inning on Thursday afternoon after three solo home runs.