TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team exploded for a 12-2 seven-inning win Monday in wrapping up a three-game set at Northeastern State.
 
Northwest moved its season mark to 6-21 overall and 4-12 in MIAA play.
 
Bearcat starter Alex Slocum went the distance as he struck out a career-high tying eight. It's the third time in his career that Slocum has struck out eight batters. Slocum scattered four hits and two runs (one earned) in his second career complete game.
 
Senior Ryan Koski put up a career-high seven RBI as he went 3-for-4 with a three-run double and a grand slam. Koski also drew a walk. Freshman Trey Morris went 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored.
 
NSU struck first with a pair of doubles in the opening inning to take a 1-0 lead.
 
Northwest drew even in the top of the second. Sophomore Jacob Selock drew a leadoff walk. Freshman Parker Griffith singled in his collegiate debut to put runners on the corners with no one out. Junior Noah Bodenhausen delivered a sacrifice fly to left field to plate Selock and level the game at 1-1.
 
NSU retook the lead in the bottom of the second. NSU took advantage of a hit batter and a throwing error to take a 2-1 lead.
 
The Bearcat offense exploded for five runs in the fourth to take a 6-2 lead. Freshman Evan Tocmo drove in a run on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded and no one out. Koski unloaded a grand slam down the left field line to give the Bearcats a four-run cushion.
 
Koski's bat stayed hot in the fifth when he came through with a two-out, three-run double that scored Tocmo, sophomore Cole Slibowski and junior Caden Diel. Koski's rip gave Northwest a 9-2 lead. Koski didn't wait long to cross the plate again when Morris bashed a two-run homer to left field to increase the margin to 11-2.
 
The Bearcats added to it in the seventh when Bodenhausen drew a leadoff walk. He stole second and third before Tocmo drove him in on an RBI groundout to second base that gave Northwest a commanding 12-2 lead.

NOTES: Koski has connected on a team-best eight home runs this season ... Koski has bashed 17 career home runs ... Koski's 17 homers ties him for No. 10 on Northwest's all-time home run list … he is tied with Dave Svehla (1990-92), Bryan Wandrey (1991-92) and Eric Swain (2012-13) … Koski's seven RBI effort is the most by a Bearcat since Chris Benham drove in eight vs. Minnesota-Crookston on March 11, 2007 ... three other Bearcats have driven in seven runs since Benham's eight RBI game - Britt Westman (7 RBI vs. Truman State - 4/26/06), Eric Swain (7 RBI vs. Southwest Baptist - 4/5/13) and Donovan Warren (7 RBI vs. Newman - 4/2/22) ... his 7-RBI game is tied for the second-most this year in the MIAA ... Koski has posted nine multi-RBI games this season ... Koski has tallied nine multi-hit games this season to tie for the team lead ... Morris secured his sixth multi-hit contest and first three-hit game of the season ... Morris is in the midst of a five-game winning streak ... Griffith earned his first multi-hit game as he debuted for the Bearcats on Monday ... Slibowski extended his streak of games reaching base to 18 in a row ... Selock has reached in 13 straight contests ... it is the eighth time this season the Bearcats have had 10 or more hits in a contest ... Northwest tied a season-high with 12 runs ... it is the fifth time Northwest has scored 10 or more runs this season ... Northwest is 3-2 when scoring 10 or more runs ... the Bearcats are 4-1 when limiting the opponent to two runs or less.