Friday, March 22
Northwest Missouri State at Rogers State, 3 p.m. | WATCH | LIVE STATS

Saturday, March 23
Northwest Missouri State at Rogers State, 1 p.m. | WATCH | LIVE STATS

Sunday, March 24
Northwest Missouri State at Rogers State, 3 p.m. | WATCH | LIVE STATS

The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team fresh off a 7-5 non-conference win over Rockhurst will travel to Claremore, Okla., to take on the Rogers State University Hillcats in an MIAA three-game series.
 
Northwest (11-15 overall, 3-10 MIAA) will square off against Rogers State (14-10 overall, 6-7 MIAA) beginning Friday with a 3 p.m. start.
 
Head coach Darin Loe's squad has tallied 11 double-figure scoring contests this season. Northwest is averaging 8.1 runs per game, which ranks No. 6 in the MIAA.
 
Northwest is 9-1 when leading after six innings and a perfect 9-0 when leading after eight. The Bearcats are 8-2 when scoring first. Northwest has tallied 34 first-inning runs – the most of any inning. Northwest is 8-3 when holding its opponent to no home runs.
 
Caden Diel is Northwest's top hitter with a .366 batting average. Diel has 26 hits in 71 at-bats. Diel has 19 singles, six doubles and a homer. Diel is also a perfect 11-of-11 in stolen base attempts. He leads the Bearcats with a .495 on-base percentage. Diel posted his first career four-hit game in a 10-2 win at Benedictine. Diel has recorded nine multi-hit games this season.
 
Noah Bodenhausen leads the club with 27 runs scored. Bodenhausen is batting .313 with 30 hits and seven stolen bases. He is 13-of-26 (.500) when leading off an inning. Bodenhausen has eight multi-hit games and four multi-RBI contests. He enters the Rogers State series in the midst of a four-game hitting streak.

Ryan Williams is batting .358 with a team-best 10 doubles and 21 walks. Williams is tied for the team lead in multi-hit games (11). Williams has posted a trio of three-hit games. Williams has four multi-RBI contests.
 
Trey Morris is hitting .346 and leads the team in runs (37), home runs (5), RBI (36), total bases (61) and slugging percentage (.570). Morris has 11 multi-hit games, which includes seven three-hit games. Morris has 10 multi-RBI games. Morris leads the squad with 12 two-out hits and six hits with the bases loaded. Morris is 14-of-21 with a runner on third and less than two outs. Morris has recorded 10 RBI with two outs this season. Morris hit a two-run go-ahead homer in Tuesday's 7-5 non-conference victory over Rockhurst.
 
Jacob Selock is batting .311 and is tied for second on the squad with three home runs. Selock tops the team with five sacrifice bunts. Selock ranks No. 2 on the squad with 22 RBI. Selock is 9-of-10 with runners on third and less than two outs.
 
Kaehukai Young is tied for second on the squad with 24 runs scored. He is batting .272 with 22 hits and three home runs. He has drawn 10 walks and has been hit by a pitch on six occasions. He is 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts.
 
Cole Slibowski ranks third on the team with 21 RBI, with 12 of those coming with two outs. He is batting .269 with 28 hits. He leads the squad with 12 two-out RBI and has nine two-out hits. He is tied for fourth on the team with eight multi-hit contests. He has posted five multi-RBI games. Slibowski has a team-best 19 hits when leading off an inning (19-of-39).
 
The Bearcat pitching staff has put up a 7.04 team earned run average. Northwest pitchers have struck out 205 batters in 212 1/3 innings.
 
George Fisher made his Bearcat debut in a 10-2 win over Benedictine. He pitched two perfect innings and was rewarded with his first career win. Fisher is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 10 innings pithed this season. Fisher has allowed seven hits and six runs (three earned).
 
Brock Steggall possesses a 6.75 earned run average in 20.0 innings pitched. Steggall is 2-1 with a save with 15 strikeouts. Steggall has allowed five hits (27 at bats) with two outs in an inning.
 
Casey Stalzer has made seven starts and sits at 3-2 with a 6.56 ERA. Stalzer has struck out a team-best 51 batters in 35 2/3 innings pitched. Stalzer has struck out at least eight batters in six of his seven starts this season.
 
Quinn Mason captured MIAA Pitcher of the Week honors as he mowed down Emporia State for 6 2/3 scoreless innings. Mason (2-2) struck out 11 Hornets in picking up his first win of the year. Mason has a 6.34 ERA in 32 2/3 innings pitched. Mason has struck out 41 batters.
 
Jacob Gajic has tallied a team-best three saves this season. He is 1-3 with a 6.94 ERA in 23 1/3 innings of work. Gajic has struck out 25 batters in 11 appearances.
 
 (1-3) tallied a win and a save in the final two games of the series win at Henderson State. Gajic worked 2 1/3 innings in at 15-6 win where he struck out four batters and allowed only two hits. Gajic has produced 12 career saves to rank tied for fifth in Bearcat history.
 
Northwest Career Saves
1. Trevor Dudar, 2018-19 - 23
2. Carson Smith, 2011-16 - 17
3. Matt Goodman, 2000-01 - 15
4. Brett Whittle, 2006-07 - 13
5. Jayson Huett, 2010-11 - 12
6. Jacob Gajic, 2022-pr. – 12
7. Nikko Pablo, 2014-17 - 11
8. Evan Nickell, 2007-08 - 9
9. Matt Coons, 2003-06 - 8
10. Brett Rust, 2002 - 7
     Troy Newman, 1984-85 - 7

Bearcat head coach Darin Loe one of 23 active NCAA Div. II head coaches with at least 700 career wins. Loe has tallied 738 triumphs in 30 seasons as a head coach. Loe is one of four active MIAA coaches with 700 or more wins with Bob Fornelli (1,062 – Fort Hays State, Emporia State, Pittsburg State) and Brad Hill (900 – Central Missouri, Kansas State, Emporia State), Sunny Golloway (767 – Oral Roberts, Oklahoma, Auburn, East Central, Northeastern State). Loe is Northwest's all-time coaching wins leader with 582 victories. Loe has a record of 399-413 in MIAA games only. Loe took over as the Bearcat skipper in 2000 and ranks No. 4 in all-time MIAA baseball coaching victories (582).
 
MIAA Coaching Wins (through March 13, 2024)
1. Bob Fornelli (ESU/PSU – 2004-pres.)         746
2. Buzz Verduzco (MWSU – 2000-2023)         629
3. Steve Anson (Washburn – 1989-2014)       622
4. Darin Loe (Northwest – 2000-pres.)           582
5. Steve Bever (PSU – 1991-2012)                  558