Box Score

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State baseball team defeated Southwest Baptist 4-2 Monday afternoon at Rousey Field.
 
The win propelled the RiverHawks (9-4, 5-3 MIAA) to a 3-1 series victory over the Bearcats (4-9, 1-7 MIAA).
 
The contest was moved up an hour and a half due to rain in the forecast, and both teams had to deal with a persistent light rain shower throughout the day.
 
NSU got on the board first when a double from sophomore Caleb Hill plated junior Gabriel Wurth in the bottom of the fourth inning.
 
The RiverHawks used an error in the fifth to tack on another run. The hit came from sophomore Jared Aschbrenner and brought home senior Tyler Wilkins after the second baseman bobbled the ball. Wilkins later hit a two-run home run in the eighth to seal the victory.
 
Southwest Baptist got on the board in the seventh and also threatened to tie the game with three hits in the ninth, but the visitors stranded six base runners in the final three frames as NSU held on to its lead.
 
Sophomore Gabe Coldwell (1-0) earned the win on the mound after allowing just three hits across the first 6.0 frames in his first start for NSU. He struck out nine and walked just one. Senior Waylon Davis tossed an inning of relief, and junior Jake Kern entered in the eighth and picked up the two-inning save. He now has an MIAA-best five saves this year.
 
Hill and Wilkins both went 2-for-4, and Wilkins finished with two RBI and two runs scored.
 
SBU's Cory Borsh (0-3) took the loss after conceding two runs on five hits in the first 5.0 frames. Sam Vergara conceded two runs on just one hit in the final three innings.
 
The Bearcats were able to outhit NSU 10-6, and Ross Wolfe led the way with a 3-for-5 effort. Christian Binger, Jake Vore and Chance Wolfe all had two hits.
 
Northeastern State is now set to travel to Rogers State for a 3 p.m. non-conference game March 10.
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH TRAVIS JANSSEN
Initial statement…
"It's always our goal to win each series and win the weekends. Four-game series can be hard to win sometimes. Splitting can become easy to do. We're very happy to get the win. Southwest Baptist played really hard. They are well-coached and they don't quit. They fight until the end. It was a well-played series. I'm really happy with our pitching and our defense. Those two things are giving us a chance right now. We have room for improvement offensively, but I believe we'll get there."
 
On strong starting pitching all series...
"Strong starting pitching is how good teams start. We had four quality starts and that's very encouraging. I was very happy with Gabe Coldwell and what he did today. That's not to take anything away from Ryan Helsley, Bobby Sehgal and Zack Hammock, because they all did well. I'm happy for all those guys."

-GoRiverHawksGo.com-