SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Drury's annual Battle for Bell baseball benefit game with cross-town rival Missouri State has been set for Thursday, Oct. 9, at Hammons Field in Springfield. The ninth installment of the exhibition contest will once again raise funds for the Howard Bell CoxHealth ALS Clinic in Springfield.
 
The Panthers and Bears will square off at 6:30 p.m. at Hammons Field. Digital general admission tickets will be available for purchase online through CoxHealth or at the gate for $5, with children under the age of 13 admitted free of charge. A ticket confirmation and photo ID will be required at the gate for entry.

Since its inception in 2012, 'Battle for Bell' has assisted in the fight against Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). A portion of ticket revenue will once again be directed to the local ALS Clinic, which provides coordinated care and support to ALS patients in the region.
 
This year's Panthers-Bears match-up will mark the ninth time the two programs have staged the 'Battle for Bell' contest. 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 Hall of Fame head coach 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.

"I'm so happy we are able to continue this tradition of working with Missouri State and coach Guttin and coach (Joey) Hawkins," Drury head coach Scott Nasby stated. "The CoxHealth ALS Clinic is a valuable resource for families affected by this disease, and for us to be able to raise funds for the clinic is vital to its success." 
 
Bell, a 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 later became the Panthers' head baseball coach in 2005. Bell was on the staff during Nasby's playing days with the Falcons, and he eventually was named head coach at Glendale when Stratton departed to revive the Drury baseball program.

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