CLAREMORE, Okla. – The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team finished its season with a come-from-behind effort by scoring 11 unanswered runs for a 13-5 victory over the Rogers State University Hillcats.
 
The Bearcats trailed 5-1 entering the sixth before coming alive offensively and scoring the win.
 
The Bearcats (19-27 overall, 13-20 MIAA) were eliminated from MIAA postseason play when the Emporia State Hornets tallied an 8-3 win at Central Oklahoma and Newman posted a 9-6 victory over Northeastern State on Sunday afternoon. Northwest, Emporia State and Newman each finished with MIAA records of 13-20 in a tie for eighth place. The Hornets own the tiebreaker by taking two of three games from both the Bearcats and the Jets.
 
Freshman second baseman Jake Emhardt produced Northwest's first five-hit game since Luke Hassman tallied five hits against Missouri Western on April 11, 2018. Emhardt went 5-for-6 Sunday against the Hillcats.
 
Reliever Jacob Gajic (1-1) earned the win by tossing four scoreless innings. Gajic allowed two hits and struck out two Hillcats.
 
Rogers State took a 2-0 lead in the first on a pair of unearned runs.
 
The Bearcats drew even at 2-2 in the top of the second when Caden Diel singled home both Jake Emhardt and Ryan Koski.
 
The Hillcats regained the lead in the fourth on a pair of RBI singles to move out in front, 4-2.
 
RSU's Skyler Nelson hit a solo homer in the fifth to push the lead to 5-2.
 
Northwest evened the score at 5-5 with a three-run sixth. Jacob Pinkerton singled down the left field line to plate Emhardt and Ryan Williams. Donovan Warren tied it up with a sacrifice fly to right to bring home Diel.
 
The Bearcats took their first lead of the game in the seventh. Pinkerton walked with the bases loaded to score Ryan Koski. Brett Holden was hit by a pitch to score Williams. Mackie finished the scoring in the seventh with a sacrifice fly to right that allowed Emhardt to cross the plate.
 
Emhardt continued his big day at the plate with an RBI single in the eighth. Emhardt would score on a Pinkerton single through the left side to give Northwest a 10-5 lead.
 
Koski belted a one-out, two-run homer to left field in the ninth to extend the Bearcat margin to 12-5. Caden Opfer ran for Wiliams after he drew a walk. Opfer moved up to second on another single from Emhardt. Opfer scored on an error by the RSU catcher after Opfer stole third.
 
NOTES: Emhardt and Koski each scored four runs … Pinkerton went 3-for-6 with four RBI … Holden went 2-for-6 … Diel went 2-for-3 and also walked three times … Williams scored two runs and drew two walks … Northwest had 14 hits and drew 12 walks … Alex Slocum and Jacob Gajic held RSU to eight hits.