Illinois State defeated top-seeded Missouri State 7-2 Sunday in the Missouri Valley Conference baseball tournament at Hammons Field.
The loss eliminated Missouri State, while Illinois State moved on to the Valley tournament championship game Sunday afternoon against Dallas Baptist.
Three errors and a wild pitch helped Illinois State jump out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning Sunday against Missouri State, and the Redbirds never looked back.
The Bears (40-17) got on the scoreboard in the sixth inning when Hunter Steinmetz hit an RBI single, but the big comeback never materialized.
In the eighth inning, the Bears had the bases loaded with one out, but they managed only one run on a Justin Paulsen sacrifice fly.