MARYVILLE, Mo. – The NSU offense struck early and often, as the RiverHawks held off a late rally from Northwest Missouri to win their MIAA opener on Friday afternoon.
THE BASICS
Final Score: Northeastern State 8, Northwest Missouri 6
Records: Northeastern State 6-7, Northwest Missouri 5-10
NSU Pitcher of Record:
Jonathan Smithey (2-2);
Nic Swanson (1)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Northeastern State drew first blood, as
Wes O'Neill drew a leadoff walk in the second, scoring when
Dylan Hight went deep to left for his second home run of the season, giving NSU a 2-0 lead. They added another pair in the third, as Freeman reached base on a hit by pitch and worked his way around the bases, scoring when
Nic Swanson doubled to left field. Hight then stepped up to the plate and reached on an error by the shortstop, scoring O'Neill.
The RiverHawks bats kept going in the fourth, as
Jaxon Phipps doubled to right-center, allowing
Collin Klingensmith to score all the way from first, stretching the lead to 5-0. Phipps didn't have to wait long, as
Blake Freeman hit an RBI single, advancing to second on an error by the right fielder. The inning wasn't over, as
Chaz Orr picked up an RBI of his own on a groundout to give NSU a 7-0 lead.
After plating a run in the bottom of the fourth, the Bearcats hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the seventh, including a two-run shot from Connor Quick that cut the lead to 7-4.
Seth Key came on in relief and got the first batter he faced to strikeout before inducing a pair of fly outs to right field to end the inning.
NSU got tricky in the eighth, as
Reid Fehr led off with a infield single. After advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt and moving to third on a single, he scored when Freeman laid down a squeeze bunt, giving them the 8-4 lead.
The Bearcats wouldn't go down easy, as in the eighth Caden Diel drew a two-out walk. After advancing to third on a pair of wild pitches, Peter Carlson doubled to drive him in and bring Northwest Missouri within three runs. They picked up another when Quick singled into right field, scoring Carlson and making it a two-run game. Northwest Missouri would then work the bases loaded, but Swanson came on and recorded a big strikeout to end the inning.
It looked like Northwest Missouri would strike in the ninth, as they got the leadoff batter aboard on a single up the middle. The next batter was Garrett Darrah, who hit a scorching line drive that Orr caught, then stepped on first base for the double play that effectively killed the Bearcats rally.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
-
Blake Freeman extended his hit streak to 24 games with his single in the fourth. It is the longest hit streak for NSU since assistant coach
Butch Rea hit in 25 consecutive games during the 2017 season.
- Phipps went 3-4 at the plate with one run batted in and one run scored, while Hight drove in two runs for NSU.
Up Next: The RiverHawks and Bearcats will be back on the field Saturday afternoon for game two of the three-game series.
