A gloomy, drizzling night set the stage for a rough opening day for the Sam Houston Bearkats.

The Bearkats rallied late but couldn’t overcome an early deficit, falling 11-6 to the Missouri State Bears on Friday at Don Sanders Stadium.

Missouri State wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, launching a three-run hit to left field in the first inning. The early score put the Bears up 3-0, and the Bearkats struggled to respond, going three up, three down in the bottom of the inning.

Sam Houston’s bats were sluggish in the early innings, failing to generate much offensive pressure. However, in the fourth inning, Brady Christensen ignited some life into the lineup, smashing a two-run blast for the Bearkats’ first home run of the season.

Defensive issues proved costly in the sixth inning, allowing Missouri State to extend its lead. A couple of errors put the Bearkats in an even deeper hole.

Down big in the ninth inning, Sam Houston refused to go down quietly. Brandon Autrey delivered a three-run homer to pull the Bearkats within five, but the rally wasn’t enough to complete the comeback. Missouri State closed out the game for an 11-6 victory.

Despite the loss, the Bearkats showed resilience in the later innings. They’ll look to bounce back and clean up the defensive mistakes in Game 2 of the series, with first pitch set for Saturday at 6 p.m.