Box Score

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The Northeastern State baseball team lost 7-4 to Lindenwood in the series finale Monday afternoon at Lou Brock Complex.
 
The RiverHawks (12-6, 7-5 MIAA) won the first two games of the series to earn the weekend road split, while the Lions (8-13, 2-6 MIAA) were able to come from behind to pick up the final two victories.
 
The weekend moved Northeastern State to 7-4 against Lindenwood since NSU joined the MIAA in 2013.
 
The RiverHawks got on the board with a three-run second inning, but the Lions responded with three of their own in the bottom of the third. A single tally followed by a three-run seventh would trump NSU's lone run in the eighth as Lindenwood would go on to take the victory.
 
Both teams finished with seven hits.
 
Juniors Eric Kirkpatrick and Cody Begovich both finished with two hits. Senior Tyler Wilkins scored twice for the visitors.
 
Sophomore Gabe Coldwell earned a no-decision as he allowed four runs on four hits in the first 5.0 innings. He also posted five strikeouts. Sophomore Zack Hammock (0-2) took the loss after relieving Coldwell for one out. Senior Kyle Shambaugh gave up two runs in an inning of relief, and junior Jake Kern allowed one run in 1.2 innings.
 
LWU starter Dylan Terrell was pulled after just 1.2 innings. He gave up three runs on two hits. Brendan Kleekamp (1-1) picked up the win after giving up just one unearned run and four hits across the next 6.1 frames. Wade Rothermich threw the final inning for his first save of the season.
 
Mike Ehrhard finished 1-for-3 with a home run and four RBI for the Lions. Drew Quinones scored the game-winning run and was the only member of the team to finish with more than one hit (2-for-4).
 
Northeastern State is now scheduled to host St. Edward's at 2 p.m. March 18 at Rousey Field.
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH TRAVIS JANSSEN
Statement…
"We always try to win each series. I thought our guys played pretty well this weekend. We broke down a little bit the last couple of games, but we usually play pretty good defense. We made a couple of mistakes in the last two games that gave them a little life, but we were able to win two games on the road. One thing you can't ignore was how this was our first true road weekend of the season. This is the longest we had been away from home all year. They competed hard and gave good effort, and we were able to earn the split."
 
On what he takes away from the series…
"A couple of our players that had been struggling swung the bat extremely well. The team is playing pretty well. Our starting pitching played well for the most part. (Lindenwood) got one good swing on Jake Kern, but other than that he's been rock solid all year. We really believe in him. There are a lot of positives, and we're going to try to continue to build on those. This is a great group with great team chemistry. We're just going to keep working hard."
 
-GoRiverHawksGo.com-