ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- A walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning was able to give Missouri Western the series-tying win against Northeastern State amid a 12-11 final.

Both offenses were on total display again, combining for 27 base hits and 23 runs a day after merging with 30 and 29. NSU (9-6, 1-1 MIAA) got going at the beginning with four runs in the top of the first to take an early lead, though MWSU (8-5, 1-1 MIAA) countered with three in the bottom half of the first. 

After an early explosion, the Griffons found a follow-up much sooner than the RiverHawks, matching their first inning output with the same totals in the third and fifth to go with two in the sixth to make it 11 unanswered and an 11-4 game entering the contest's final third. It was then that NSU started to produce more offense, going after MWSU's pitching and finding four runs to cut the deficit to three (11-8) with six outs left.

In the ninth inning, Brooks Miller and Drew Miller drove in two runs before Sloan Smith provided the tying score with a steal at home plate. While the fireworks extended the game another half-inning, the RiverHawks couldn't draw the three outs needed to play beyond the full nine, as Noah Cook singled to bring in the game-winner with Jared Munk. 

Tyson Fourkiller continued his tremendous production as the leadoff man with three base hits and a run batted in. The top three in the order accounted for six of the team's 11 runs batted in, with Fourkiller providing one with Matt Kaiser's two and C.D. White's three. 

After a brief start from pitcher Drake Sisemore, Hayden Key and Grant Parr saw a combined 3.1 innings of work, while Cole White pitched the second half. 

Northeastern State plays game three tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. at Griffon Baseball Field. Read Full Article