PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Northwest Missouri State baseball team suffered a doubleheader sweep at the hands of the Pittsburg State Gorillas on Saturday at Al Ortolani Field.
 
In game one, the Bearcats were shut out for the first time this season, falling 8-0 while leaving nine runners stranded on base. Game two saw a late surge from Northwest, which cut the deficit to three runs in the eighth inning. However, Pittsburg State held off the Bearcats' rally to secure a 9-5 victory.
 
Northwest drops to 9-11 and 3-5 in the MIAA, as Pittsburg State improves to 15-5 on the season, and 6-5 in conference play. 
 
GAME ONE – PITTSBURG STATE 8, NORTHWEST 0
Ben Haug (2-2) took the mound for Northwest, keeping the potent Pittsburg State offense scoreless through the first two innings. However, the Gorillas struck in the third, plating three runs with an RBI-triple followed by two doubles. Haug pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs on 10 hits while striking out six.
 
Dylan Hufft led the Bearcats offensively, going 2-for-4 at the plate with a team-high two hits. Ashton Neuman, Ryan Williams, Kaehukai Young, and Brady Miles each contributed one hit, making up the Bearcats' six hits in the game.
 
Northwest threatened in the top of the fifth, with runners on the corners and one out, but a strikeout-groundout combo ended the scoring opportunity. Pittsburg State added one run in the fifth, three in the seventh, and another in the eighth, resulting in an 8-0 shutout victory and handing the Bearcats their first of the 2025 season.
 
GAME TWO – PITTSBURG STATE 9, NORTHWEST 5
Ryan Williams drew a walk in the opening frame, followed by a Dylan Hufft double to right to give the 'Cats an early 1-0 lead. The Gorillas answered in the bottom half with two runs on a pair of hits to take a one-run lead. 
Northwest went down in order in the second, as Pittsburg State capitalized with another run, making it a 3-1 deficit. 

Logan Brasel made his eighth appearance of the season in the fifth, relieving Bearcat starter George Fisher (2-3), who worked 4 1/3 innings, allowing six runs (five earned) on six hits and a strikeout. Brasel allowed two more Gorillas to cross the plate, bringing their lead to 6-1 after five complete.

After Pittsburg State led 8-1, Young was hit by a pitch, as Chester Brooks single to move Young to second to begin the seventh. Parker Griffith pinch-hit for Sam Wornson with one out in the inning. Griffith blasted his third homer in five games to cut the Gorillas' lead to four with a three-run shot. 

Brooks made it a three-run ballgame in the eighth when he singled home Neuman from third. However, Pittsburg State added its final run in the eighth to take a 9-5 win in game two in Saturday's doubleheader. 
 
UP NEXT
Northwest and Pittsburg State will wrap up its three-game weekend series with a Noon start on Sunday, March 16.