JOPLIN, Missouri - The No. 27-ranked St. Cloud State Huskies baseball team rallied for a pair of runs in the ninth to come back and edge the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats, 3-2.
Following a stagnant opening two innings by both squads, the Bearcat offense went work in the top of the third, plating a run and taking the early 1-0 advantage over the Huskies. With one out, junior Jacob Pinkerton slapped a double to left-center field, giving Northwest life on the base paths. Pinkerton advanced to third and crossed home plate on wild pitches.
St. Cloud State answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the third, evening up the score at a run apiece.
The Bearcats broke the stalemate in the top of the eighth inning, scoring one run and taking a 2-1 lead. With one out, sophomore Jordan Peck reached on a fielder’s choice and was scored on the next at bat by fellow sophomore Ryan Koski. Koski notched a two-out double to left-center field, allowing Peck to score on a fielding error by the center fielder.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the bases loaded, the Huskies’ offense hit a blooper to shallow right field, allowing two runners to cross home plate and edge out the Bearcats, 3-2.
On the bump, junior Max Spitzmiller got the start for the ‘Cats, dealing seven innings. Spitzmiller allowed one run (one earned) on four hits while striking out a season-best 11. Sophomore Alex Slocum, making his fifth appearance of the 2020 season, relieved Spitzmiller in the eighth and held the Huskies scoreless. Sophomore Zach Shadlow took the mound in the ninth and gave up two runs on two hits while tallying a strikeout.
Northwest falls to 5-4 on the season while St. Cloud State improves to a perfect 2-0. The Bearcats will be back in action Sunday, taking on University of Missouri-St. Louis with first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. UMSL leads the all-time series with Northwest, 10-8 with the Bearcats winning last season’s sole meeting, 6-2.
NOTES: Spitzmiller has tallied a team-best 18 strikeouts this season … Pinkerton notched game-high three hits … senior Connor Quick extended his team-high reached-base streak to nine games, hitting streak to six games … six Bearcat hitters tallied base hits (Pinkerton, Quick, Peter Carlson, Koski, Caden Diel, Donovan Warren).
--- Northwest Athletics ---