Drury, Missouri State baseball teams face off in annual 'Battle for Bell' game Saturday

The annual "Battle for Bell" baseball game between Drury and Missouri State is set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday night at Hammons Field in Springfield. The game, sponsored by SRC Holdings Corporation, serves as a fundraiser for the Howard Bell CoxHealth ALS Clinic in Springfield.

The Panthers and Bears will be the second game featured that day at Hammons Field as Evangel will face Mission at noon. Tickets are $5, and admission is good for both games.

The "Battle for Bell" helps in the fight against Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), with a portion of ticket revenue directed to the local ALS Clinic, which provides coordinated care and support to ALS patients in the region.

The event honors the late Howard Bell and the ongoing quest to find a cure for ALS — commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Bell, who passed away from ALS in 2013, shared close connections with the Missouri State and Drury baseball programs. A three-year letterman for the Bears under Keith Guttin, Bell capped his collegiate career with a standout 1986 campaign in which he was honored as Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year after hitting .396 and helping MSU to a then-school-record 47 victories and its third straight AMCU Tournament title.

The Springfield native also spent more than a decade working on the baseball staff at Glendale High School and was an assistant under Mark Stratton, who would later become the Panthers' first head baseball coach in 2005. Bell was on the staff when Drury's current head coach, Scott Nasby, played for the Falcons, and Bell eventually took over the Glendale program as head coach when Stratton arrived at Drury.

This year's Panthers-Bears match-up will be the eighth time the two programs have staged the "Battle for Bell" game. It will mark the third year Mission and Evangel participated in the exhibition series.

Drury women’s soccer ranked 21st in NCAA-II

Drury is ranked in the NCAA Division II top 25 for the first time this season as the Panthers cracked the United Soccer Coaches poll and are 21st this week. Drury is 9-1-2 and 6-1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and has outscored their opponents 25-6 in 12 games.

Colorado School of Mines (9-0-1) is ranked No. 1, while Cal Poly Pomona (8-0-1) is ranked second, and Columbus State (7-0-1) is third. Great Lakes Valley Conference opponent Maryville is ranked 13th. Drury's only loss and only tie so far this season has been against the Saints.

Drury returns to action on Friday when they travel to Upper Iowa for a 5 p.m. game in Fayette, Iowa.

Drury hosts NCAA West Regional Triathlon Championships on Saturday

Drury will host the NCAA West Regional triathlon championships on Saturday at Fellows Lake in Springfield. The first of two heats starts at 9 a.m., with the second heat at 11 a.m.

The regional championship will feature 19 teams from all three NCAA divisions. The collegiate sprint-style race features a 500-meter swim, a 20-kilometer bicycle route, and a five-kilometer run.

Last year, the Panthers finished second among D-II teams at the regional and fourth at the national championship meet.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Drury, Missouri State baseball teams face off in annual 'Battle for Bell' game Saturday