Missouri State struggled to score with runners on base and allowed six runs over the last two innings for Mizzou to run away with a 10-1 victory.
The first game of the in-state rivalry, with the second scheduled to be played in Columbia on April 18 at 6 p.m., saw the Bears leave seven runners on base and not take advantage of their opportunities.
The wheels fell off the bus in the eighth and ninth. In the ninth, the Tigers scored a pair of unearned runs, one on an error and one on a passed ball.
Missouri State's lone run came in the bottom of the seventh when trailing by four.