TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State baseball team completed a series sweep over Nebraska-Kearney Sunday afternoon at Rousey Field.
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The RiverHawks (19-15, 13-11 MIAA) defeated the Lopers (13-20, 10-14 MIAA) by a 12-10 margin and are now tied for sixth in the conference standings. NSU has won its last four games, which is currently the longest win streak by any team in the league.
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UNK held an 8-3 lead after batting in the sixth, but Northeastern State plated nine of the last 11 runs to pull ahead and collect the last win in the three-game series.
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The RiverHawks scored six runs in the home half of the sixth to take a brief 9-8 advantage, but the Lopers got two back in the top of the seventh to regain the lead at 10-9. NSU tied the game in the bottom of the seventh and used a pair of Nebraska-Kearney errors to plate the two game-winning runs in the eighth.
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Both teams tallied 12 hits in the finale and combined for five errors.
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Senior
Cody Begovich led NSU with a 3-for-5 effort at the plate. He drove home the first three runs of the day for the RiverHawks – which included his team-leading 11th homer of the season – and also scored twice. Senior
Gabriel Wurth finished 2-for-5 with a run batted in, and junior
Bryce Davenport was 1-for-3 with two RBI and two runs. Redshirt freshman
Zane Takhar also scored twice and drove in a run.
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Junior
Zack Hammock (4-1) earned his second win of the series on the mound as he threw the final 3.0 innings and did not give up a run. He only allowed one hit in his relief appearance. Junior
Daniel Faulk started and went 4.0 frames. He gave up two runs on three hits, while striking out three and walking two. Junior
Kyle Emmons tossed the next 0.2 innings and allowed five runs on four hits. Junior
Zach Poehl bridged the gap between Emmons and Hammock by conceding three runs on four hits in 1.1 frames.
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Andrew Riddell left with a no-decision after throwing the first 5.0 innings for the Lopers. He allowed six runs on seven hits, while striking out six and walking three. Derek Clausen entered the game with a 2.08 ERA, but he could not record an out against NSU and was tagged for three runs on two hits before being replaced. Jacob Dittman (0-2) was saddled with the loss after allowing the final three runs on three hits in 3.0 frames.
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The 3-4-5 hitters for Nebraska-Kearney caused problems for the RiverHawks all day at the park, as the trio all hit home runs and combined for seven hits, seven RBI and seven runs. Josh Estrada was 1-for-3 with three runs scored, Dallas Schramm was 2-for-5 with four RBI and three runs scored, and Kyle Honeycutt finished 4-for-5 with two RBI and one run scored.
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NSU will now head to Edmond, Oklahoma, to begin a three-game midweek series against Central Oklahoma. The first tilt will begin at 2 p.m. April 13. The second game will be played April 19 in Tahlequah, and the final game will be April 27 back in Edmond.
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