TAHLEQUAH -- A tenth inning solo home run from
Isaiah Keller provided Northeastern State with a walk-off victory, knocking off #24 Pittsburg State at Thomas C. Rousey Field Friday night.
Keller's home run, his second of the series and his sixth of the season, supplied the RiverHawks (16-17, 7-12 MIAA) with the final major swing of the night across an evening filled with offensive power on display. The teams combined for 23 base hits, with NSU claiming 12. Both teams finished with three multi-score innings across the duel.
The hosts controlled early, taking a 4-1 advantage after three innings after two scored in both the second and third. Among the scoring plays included a
Drew Miller homer in the third. The Gorillas (22-10, 13-6 MIAA) cut the lead to two in the fifth with a score themselves, but didn't muster a full answer until the seventh, where they took the lead with a three-run stanza.Â
Down 5-4 with nine outs left, the RiverHawks answered with back-to-back home runs from
Gage Williams and Miller. After holding PSU off the board in the eighth, NSU went into the final inning of regulation with a 7-5 lead, one that evaporated with the highest-scoring inning of the night for the Gorillas. Attacking against NSU's bullpen, four PSU players crossed home plate to retake the lead at 9-7, but with the game on the line, the RiverHawks found just enough of a response to push the matchup into extras.
A no-hit inning was tossed by
Cole White in the top half of the tenth before
Isaiah Keller took the bat to begin the bottom half. The senior ensured no other NSU player would enter the box the rest of the evening with a walk-off slam over the wall in left field to bring an end to NSU's four-game losing streak to PSU.Â
Drew Miller's two home runs proved to be crucial in the win, too, as they were involved in a 3-for-3 day offensively for the senior. With four RBI, Miller drove in nearly half of the team's total.
Gage Williams also finished with three hits alongside two RBI. White took the win for his work in relief, combing with
CJ Briley and
Kyle Duffey for 11 strikeouts.
Northeastern State plays game three Saturday at 1 p.m.
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