SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Wichita State University baseball team scored five runs in the top of the 10th inning to break a 4-4 tie and defeat the Missouri State Bears, 9-4, in a midweek, non-conference game Tuesday, May 7, at Hammons Field.

Wichita State (22-26) is scheduled to open a three-game American Athletic Conference series against eighth-ranked ECU Friday, May 10, at 6 p.m. at Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field.

Senior Luke Ritter went 3-for-4 with a homer, two runs scored and two RBI, while sophomore Paxton Wallace added a 2-for-5 performance with a home run, double, three RBI and two runs scored, pacing WSU at the plate.

Junior closer Mitchell Walters (2-4) earned the victory on the mound after allowing no earned runs on just one hit with two strikeouts and two walks in the ninth and 10th innings.

The Shockers broke a scoreless tie in the top of the third inning, plating a pair of runs on a double play and Ritter RBI single through the left side, gaining a 2-0 advantage. The Bears (15-32) had a rapid response, however, and scored four runs in the bottom-half of the inning to take a 4-2 lead.

Wichita State cut its deficit to 4-3 in the top of the fourth after Wallace belted a solo shot over the left field wall. It was his eighth homer of the season.

After a 38-minute delay due to lightning in the top of the seventh inning, Ritter tied the game, 4-4, with one swing, hammering a 1-2 pitch over the left-center wall for his team-high ninth home run of 2019 with one-out in the top of the eighth.

With the game still knotted at four, the Bears had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, but Walters tallied back-to-back strikeouts to send the game to extra innings.

Wichita State wasted little time regaining the lead in the 10th, scoring five runs to take a 9-4 advantage. Wallace delivered the first pair of runs on a two-run double down the left field line, before Noah Croft and Brady Slavens hit back-to-back RBI singles, and Jordan Boyer belted an RBI double to left-center, completing the five-run frame.

Walters worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the 10th with two fly balls and a ground out, securing the victory for the Shockers.

Jack Duffy recorded three hits in six at bats, and Dakota Katowski drove in two runs, pacing Missouri State offensively.

Reliever Connor Sechler (2-5) suffered the loss for the Bears after surrendering five earned runs on four hits with two strikeouts and one walk in the top of the 10th.