MARYVILLE, Missouri - The Northeastern State Riverhawks staked themselves to a 7-0 lead and held on for an 8-6 victory over the Northwest Missouri State baseball team in the Bearcat home opener Friday.
Following a scoreless first inning, the RiverHawk offense got things going with two runs in the second, two in the third and three in the fourth to jump out to a size able 7-0 advantage.
Northwest plated a runner in the home half of the fourth, clawing into Northeastern State's lead, 7-1. With two outs, junior Jacob Pinkerton doubled to left field, scoring the speedy senior infielder Calvin Rudolph from first.
With nothing doing in the fifth and the sixth innings, the Bearcats went to work in the seventh. Junior infielder Peter Carlson led off the inning, notching a single to center and giving Northwest life on the base paths. Next up, senior designated hitter Connor Quick connected with a two-run home run ball that deflected off the center field hitter's backdrop. Just as Quick reached the dugout, junior outfielder Matt Gastner stepped into the box and jacked a solo homer to left cutting the deficit to 7-4.
The RiverHawks answered in the top of the eighth, scoring a run of their own and extending the lead back to four at 8-4.
After two quick outs in the bottom of the eighth, Northwest put on its rally caps. Redshirt freshman Caden Diel drew a four-pitch walk. Next, with Rudolph at bat, Diel advanced to third on back-to-back wild pitches. Diel trotted home after Carlson tallied his second hit of the afternoon. Carlson scored on the next at bat, following a single driven through the right side by Quick. The Bearcats left the bases loaded in the eighth, while scoring two runs on three hits.
The Bearcat ninth had promise as Tyler Peters led off with a pinch-hit single. However, he was erased when pinch hitter Garrett Darrah hit a rope to first that NSU's Chaz Orr snagged and doubled off Peters. Jacob Pinkerton grounded out to third to end it.
On the mound, junior Max Spitzmiller got the start for Northwest, throwing four innings. Spitzmiller allowed seven runs (four earned) on eight hits. Junior Dodge City CC transfer Jonathan McIntyre put in some solid relief work as he tossed 3 1/3 innings and gave up three hits and an earned run. Ethan Griswold got the final five outs on the bump for the Bearcats. Griswold struck out two and did not allow a hit. The Bearcat bullpen duo clocked five innings and allowed three hits while striking out a trio.
The Bearcats will be back in action for game two of the weekend series Saturday at 2 p.m.
--- Northwest Athletics ---