The SMS baseball team is just two wins away from making it to the NCAA College World Series. Last weekend, the Bears won the Lincoln, Nebraska Regional the toughest way possible. They beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who were ranked ninth the nation and hosted the regional, two of three times. On Sunday SMS lost 9-5 in the early game, but won the championship with a 7-0 performance, that head coach Keith Guttin called “a near-perfect game”. Starting pitcher Bob Zimmerman tossed a five-hit, complete-game shut out. In Lincoln, Southwest Missouri State allowed just 12 runs in four games. Now it’s off to the Super Regionals, which is college baseball’s version of the Sweet 16, to face Ohio State. They’ll play a best-of-three series, with the winner advancing to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The Bears beat the Buckeyes 18-3 at the Lamar University Cardinal Classic on March 2. Southwest Missouri State has never advanced this far in the NCAA Baseball Tournament.
