Illinois State got a combined three-hit shutout by freshman starter Brady Huffman and reliever Jack Landwehr to hand Missouri State a 1-0 setback in opening-round action at the MVC Baseball Championship at Hammons Field Thursday morning.

With the start of the game delayed until 11:03 p.m. Wednesday evening after the completion of the day’s first three contests, Huffman limited the Bears to just three hits while striking out six Bears over 6.2 innings in Illinois State’s second-straight victory over MSU (37-16).

With the loss, the top-seeded Bears will face No. 4 Southern Illinois in a 12:30 p.m. elimination game Thursday afternoon. The Redbirds move on to a winner’s bracket semifinal matchup against Wichita State at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.