Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Northeastern State baseball team lost twice to Missouri Western State University Saturday as the Griffons completed the four-game sweep at the Griffon Baseball Field.
 
The RiverHawks (2-6, 0-4 MIAA) have now lost six in row, while MWSU (6-3, 4-0 MIAA) picked up a four-game series sweep to open play in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
 
Junior transfer Justin Burgess made his first two starts with NSU at third base and finished 3-for-6 on the day. Junior transfer Braden Brown also had three hits, and he led the RiverHawks with two runs batted in.
 
Northeastern State will travel to Claremore, Okla., for a 1 p.m. contest Feb. 25 against Rogers State.
 
MISSOURI WESTERN STATE UNIVERSITY 6, NORTHEASTERN STATE 5 (11 innings) (box score)
In a game that was scheduled for seven innings, the Griffons and RiverHawks put on a back-and-forth show that saw the home side earn the walk-off victory in style.
 
Northeastern State struck first when a single from Brown in the top of the second plated senior Kyle Singleton and Burgess. Missouri Western answered with two in the home half of the fourth, but sophomore Cody Begovich stole home in the top of the seventh to give NSU a narrow 3-2 edge.
 
The RiverHawks turned the ball over to junior closer Seth Hudson, but he blew the save to send the contest into extra innings.
 
Both teams went scoreless in the eighth and scored twice in the ninth, and the Griffons walked off in the bottom of the 11th when Will Carter hit a solo home run with two outs. He finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two runs batted in. Trevor LaHonta went 2-for-6 as MWSU outhit NSU 10-9.
 
Junior starter Bryan McClellan struck out nine batters and walked four in six innings of work. He conceded just two runs on three hits, but took the no-decision on Hudson's blown save. Freshman Ryan Helsley (0-1) threw the final 1.1 frames and was tagged with the loss after conceding the walk-off homer. Burgess and Brown combined for five of NSU's nine hits.
 
MISSOURI WESTERN STATE UNIVERSITY 6, NORTHEASTERN STATE 2 (box score)
The RiverHawks came out deflated after MWSU escaped with the victory in the first game of the doubleheader. The Griffons plated three runs in the first and added two in the fifth before NSU could respond.
 
Senior Ryan Staggs replaced Burgess at third base in the bottom of the first, and he would go on to lead NSU at the plate with a 2-for-3 effort. The RiverHawks were outhit 8-5 and were unable to take advantage of four MWSU errors.
 
Junior starter Waylon Davis (0-2) allowed five runs on seven hits in 5.0 innings. He only struck out one batter and walked two. Dylan Roades (1-0) tossed 5.0 innings for the home side and earned the win after allowing just one unearned run on four hits.
 
LaHonta and David Chew split up four of MWSU's eight hits. Chew drove in two and scored once.
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH TRAVIS JANSSEN
Opening Statement…
"Despite what the score said, there were some positives this weekend for us to build on. We simply got beat. It wasn't for a lack of competing. We just made enough mistakes to lose those games. That happens sometimes in baseball. (Missouri Western) is a solid team. They're certainly good enough to beat us four times. We came out today and played really well. I think the mindset on the team is still very good. We just need to have a good week of practice and play well against Rogers State (Tuesday). I know we lost four games this weekend, but we very easily could have won two of them. That doesn't do a lot for our conference record, but we're close. We just have to continue to get better."
 
On the six-game losing streak…
"When a team loses six games in a row, it's a little bit of everything. We're going through a tough spell at the moment. We're also having a hard time in the first inning of games (being outscored 22-4 this season). We have to get that cleaned up. That's more of a coincidence than anything, but it's not a lot of fun to start out behind. We're getting tested, but we are going to continue to stay positive and continue to try and get better."
 
On leading 3-2 heading into the final inning of the third game…
"We put ourselves in great position to win the third game. Bottom line is we just weren't good enough to get the win. There were a couple of plays that should've been made that weren't. That's a situation we want to be in. We were confident in (closer) Seth (Hudson), but it just didn't work out today. He will get the ball the next time we're in that situation, and hopefully we have different results. In baseball, you have heartbreakers. At the end of the season, I can't imagine having too many games as heartbreaking as that one. We put ourselves in position to win twice and we weren't able to do it. That was (Missouri Western's) best pitcher. Bryan McClellan did a great job for us."
 
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