TAHLEQUAH, Oklahoma – The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team took advantage of scoring opportunities and delivered three home runs in scoring a 9-7 victory over the Northeastern State University RiverHawks in the MIAA opener for both teams.
 
Northwest evened its overall record at 2-2, while Northeastern State dropped to 1-1 on the year.
 
Ryan Koski staked the Bearcats to a 1-0 with a solo homer to left-center with one out in the top of the second.
 
Bearcat starting pitcher Max Spitzmiller gave up a single in the bottom half of the second, but struck out the side to keep Northwest on top, 1-0.
 
Northwest put up a crooked number in the third as the first five Bearcat batters reached base. Brett Holden was credited with an RBI when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score Alejandro Claro. Connor Quick followed with an RBI single to center that plated Drew Mackie to give the Bearcats a 3-0 lead.
 
The RiverHawks clawed into the Bearcat lead in the bottom half of the third with a couple of runs of their own. NSU scored via a passed ball and an RBI double from Blaze Brothers.
 
Northwest used a four-run fifth to extend its lead. Quick singled up the middle to score Jacob Pinkerton, who had singled to lead off the inning. Pinkerton moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from Brett Holden. Matt Gastner laced an RBI single to right center to bring Quick home for the Bearcats. Peter Carlson blasted his team-leading third home run of the season to complete Northwest's scoring in the fifth. Carlson launched a two-out, two-run homer to left field that scored Gastner to give Northwest a 7-2 cushion.
 
NSU's Brothers homered to left with one out in the bottom half of the fifth.
 
From the No. 9 spot in the batting order, Northwest's Drew Mackie delivered a one-out solo homer in the sixth to give the Bearcats an 8-3 lead. It was Mackie's first collegiate home run after transferring to Northwest from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Quick delivered his third hit of the day, an RBI single to right center, to score Pinkerton. Pinkerton had reached on a walk and stole second.
 
The RiverHawks's Jaxon Phipps his one-out solo homer in the bottom of the sixth to pull NSU to within 9-4.
 
NSU drew a run closer in the seventh on a two-out RBI single from Blake Freeman. Freeman's single was the last batter for Spitzmiller on the hill as the Bearcats went to the bullpen and inserted Tanner Smith. Smith struck out NSU's Phipps to end the scoring threat in the seventh.
 
Smith walked in a run with two outs in the eighth to allow NSU to cut the Northwest lead to 9-6. Smith pitched an inning, allowed one hit and three walks before giving way to Alex Slocum. Slocum walked the first batter he faced that trimmed the Bearcat lead to 9-7. But Slocum induced a popup to the shortstop Pinkerton to end the NSU eighth with the Bearcats on top by two.
 
Slocum worked around a leadoff walk in the ninth to secure his first career save.
 
Northwest and NSU will continue the series on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 10 a.m. at Rausey Field in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
 
NOTES: Peter Carlson has hit 13 career home runs in a Bearcat uniform … Carlson needs four more home runs to reach Northwest's top-10 career home run chart … Carlson has recorded 19 multi-RBI games for Northwest … Connor Quick registered his 36th multi-hit game … Quick collected his 12th three-hit game of his career … it was the 16th multi-RBI game of Quick's career and the sixth time he has driven in three or more runs in a game … Jacob Pinkerton added his 11th career multi-hit game … Matt Gastner extended his hitting streak to 11 games … Gastner has reached base safely in 15 consecutive games dating back to the 2020 season … Drew Mackie has posted two multi-hit games this season … Ryan Koski has recorded at least two hits in all four games this season … Koski has eight career multi-hit games … Max Spitzmiller notched his 100th collegiate strikeout in the contest … Spitzmiller worked 6 2/3 innings and gave up 11 hits and five runs … Spitzmiller struck out six and did not allow a walk … Northwest is now 10-12 in MIAA openers under head coach Darin Loe … the Bearcats picked up career victory No. 684 for Loe … Loe has tallied 528 wins as the Bearcat skipper.