Missouri State baseball scored five runs in the ninth to force extras before Nick Rodriguez hit a game-winning home run in the 10th to knock off the No. 2 team in the country.
Missouri State rallied for a wild 14-13 victory over Arkansas in 10 innings on Tuesday night at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It's the highest-ranked win in Missouri State history.
Rodriguez finished the night 5 for 6 with two home runs, two RBI and five runs scored. He hit the game-winning home run on a full count to the opposite field with no one on in the 10th.
NICK ROD HOMERS AGAIN. BEARS LEAD!! pic.twitter.com/V73fr1fTWi
— Missouri State Baseball (@MoStateBSB) March 26, 2025
The latest chapter in the great rivalry between the Bears and Razorbacks also saw Zack Stewart and Tyler Epstein hit homers. Aside from Rodriguez, Max Knight and Jake McCutcheon were the only other Bears to record multiple hits.
The win will go down as the biggest highlight in the early days of Joey Hawkins' career as head coach. The former star shortstop for the Bears played on the same field 10 years ago when the Razorbacks defeated Missouri State in the 2015 NCAA Super Regionals.
Missouri State has been playing better lately. It's on a four-game winning streak and has won six of its last seven after starting the year 5-11. The winning streak includes a three-game sweep of Missouri Valley Conference foe Bradley. They will return to Hammons Field for a three-game weekend series with Belmont starting Friday at 6:30 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State baseball beats Arkansas in midweek action
