DURANT, Oklahoma – The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team split the scheduled doubleheader against Southeastern Oklahoma State Saturday, winning the first game 16-3 and falling just short in the second, 2-1.
The Bearcat offense, in both games, was led by the powerful bat of junior infielder Matt Gastner, who tallied three home runs on the day. In eight total at bats Saturday, Gastner notched seven RBI on five hits, scoring four runs and drawing a walk.
Three different Bearcats homered during the two-game stint.
Game 1:
Northwest (1-2) got off to a fast start, plating seven runs in the top of the first inning. With one out, senior first baseman Connor Quick slapped a single into center field, scoring Jacob Pinkerton from second and giving the Bearcats the early 1-0 advantage. Next up, Gastner stepped into the batter's box and saw the first of his three homers fly over the fence, bringing Quick across and increasing the lead to 3-0. The next RBI came from sophomore Jordan Peck, who doubled and scored junior Peter Carlson from second, moving the score to 4-0 in favor of Northwest. After the second out was gained by the Savage Storm defense, senior infielder Tim Olsen slammed his first home run ball of the 2020 season and added another three RBI to the stat sheet.
Southeastern Oklahoma State (2-1) answered with a run in the bottom of the second, coming off a one-out sacrifice fly.
After a quiet third inning, the Bearcats continued to dominate at the plate. Successful small ball advanced Quick and senior infielder Calvin Rudolph around the base path, scoring the first two runs of the inning. With a runner on, Carlson connected with a two-run homer that brought the lead to 11-1 and gave Northwest it's largest lead of the contest.
Not going away, the Savage Storm added another run in the bottom of the fourth to bring the score to 11-2.
Following a stalemate in the fifth, the Bearcats went back to work on offense and plated two more. Quick and senior Matt Schingel scored for Northwest.
After holding the Southeastern Oklahoma State offense scoreless in the home half of the sixth, Gastner muscled a three-run shot to right field, scoring Quick and Rudolph and expanding the Bearcat edge to 16-3.
On the mound, junior Max Spitzmiller got the start for Northwest. Spitzmiller tossed four full innings, allowing two runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out three and earning his first win of 2020. Fellow senior Ethan Griswold got the save, pitching the final three innings of play. Griswold also recorded three strike outs.
Northwest scored 16 runs on 15 hits and had only one error in the Game One win.
Game 2:
After a scoreless first by both squads, the Savage Storm jumped on the board first, scoring one run in the second inning and another in the third to take the 2-0 edge over the Bearcats.
Junior pitcher Spencer Hanson received the start on the bump for Northwest and held Southeastern Oklahoma State scoreless in the fourth and fifth innings. Hanson would go on to pitch six innings, allowing two runs (two earned) on five hits and striking out three.
The Bearcats' sole run of the contest came in the top of the sixth off a Gastner homer run to left field, but wasn't enough to overtake the Savage Storm lead.
Northwest would go on to fall to Southeastern Oklahoma State, 2-1.
The Bearcats and Savage Storm continue the series in a Game Four matchup Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for Noon.
NOTES: Gastner (3, Carlson (1, Olsen (1) recorded home runs…nine different Bearcats recorded hits…Quick (3, Gastner (4, Olsen (2) notched multi-hit games…Gastner (6, Carlson (2, Olsen (3) notched multi-RBI games…Quick recorded team-best seven putouts
--- MWSU Athletics ---