Story Headlines- The Northwest Missouri State baseball team split a doubleheader with Central Missouri Sunday afternoon in Warrensburg, Mo. Both games were seven inning affairs.
- The Mules took game one, 7-4.
- Northwest scored in the seventh inning to win game two, 5-4.
- The Bearcats are now 6-8 and 4-3 in the conference, while UCM's record stands at 7-7 and 3-4 in the MIAA.
Game One Key Statistics (Northwest 4, Central Missouri 7)
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Steven Garber scored two runs and drove in one more after reaching base twice.
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Paul Johnson drove in a pair of runs and finished 1-for-3.
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Nick Howard reached base twice and came in to score once.
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Joseph Hietpas started the game for the Bearcats, going 3 2/3 innings and giving up three runs. The freshman recorded two strikeouts and three walks.
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Austin Battaglia took the loss after giving up a pair of runs in 2/3 innings pitched.
Game One Key Innings- The Bearcats struck early, scoring three runs in the first inning. After
Austin Wulff was hit by a pitch,
Nick Howard moved him to second on a single to left. Wulff came around to score on
Steven Garber's single to left. Three batters later,
Paul Johnson smacked a two-out single to center, driving in two runs.
- After the Mules got one back in the second, the Bearcats added to their lead in the third after Garber led off with a walk and advanced to third on
Luke Wilkinson's single. Garber came in to score when left fielder
James Holler grounded into a double play.
- Central Missouri closed the gap to 4-3 in the fourth inning and finally took the lead for good with three runs in the fifth.
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Game Two Key Statistics (Northwest 5, Central Missouri 4)
- Out of the nine hole,
Garrett Fort went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored, including the game-winner in the seventh.
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Steven Garber finished 1-for-3 with a double, one run scored and the game-winning RBI.
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Paul Johnson drove in two runs on a single in the fourth.
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Brad Roberts started on the mound for Northwest, completing five innings and giving up four runs on just three hits. The freshman tallied two strikeouts and walked four.
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Carson Smith came in to pitch the final two innings, earning his first win of the season after allowing just one base runner.
Game Two Key Innings-
Steven Garber led off the second inning with a double down the left field line and game in to score two batters later when
James Holler reached on an error.
- With the score tied at one, the Bearcats added two runs in the fourth when
Luke Wilkinson, Holler, and
Paul Johnson hit three singles in a row with Johnson knocking in the first two.
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Garrett Fort led off the fifth with an infield single and moved to second when
Nick Gotta was beaned.
Austin Wulff drew a walk to load the bases before
Nick Howard sent a sacrifice fly to left, making the score 4-3.
- Garber helped the Bearcats take the lead for good in the seventh after Fort opened the inning with a single to right. Fort moved to third on a pair of singles by Gotta and Howard, followed by the game-winning sacrifice fly from Garber.
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Up Next- The Bearcats will go for the series victory tomorrow (March 9) when they face off with the Mules starting at 1 p.m.
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