MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Northwest Missouri State baseball team scored 17 unanswered runs in the final four frames to run-rule Arkansas-Fort Smith, 18-8, in eight innings Friday afternoon at Bearcat Baseball Field.
The Bearcats improve to 11-12 overall and 5-6 in the MIAA, while the Lions drop to 8-16 and 3-11 in conference play.
Trailing 8-1 heading into the fifth inning, Northwest erupted for 17 runs on 14 hits over the final four frames to complete the comeback victory.
Six Bearcats recorded multi-hit games, with
Ryan Williams (3),
Chester Brooks (3),
Jacob Selock (3),
Ashton Neuman (2),
Kaehukai Young (2), and
Alex Bowers (2) contributing to a season-high 18 hits as a team.
Logan Brasel (3-0) secured his third win of his freshman season, tossing the final three innings allowing just one baserunner while striking out three.
Starting pitcher
Ben Haug struck out two in the first inning before Williams launched his 19th career home run in the bottom half, giving the Bearcats a 1-0 lead. Haug continued dealing through the early innings, allowing just one hit through four frames.
After keeping UAFS off the board in the second, Northwest threatened in the bottom half as Bowers worked a two-out walk, followed by a Selock double to put two in scoring position. However, Lions' starter Grant Shankle escaped the jam to keep it a one-run game.
The game took a sharp turn in the fifth when UAFS broke through with an eight-run, eight-hit inning to take an 8-1 lead. The Bearcats wasted no time responding, as Neuman cut into the deficit with a towering two-run homer over the right-field fence. Williams followed with a double, advancing to third on a wild pitch before Young plated him on an RBI groundout, trimming the margin to 8-4 after five.
Northwest's offense erupted in the sixth. Bowers led off with a single, followed by a Selock base hit and a walk from Neuman to load the bases with no outs. Williams and
Dylan Hufft delivered back-to-back RBI singles to pull within one, and Young tied it with a base knock. After a fielder's choice,
Parker Griffith and Brooks added singles to cap off eight-straight Bearcats to reach base, giving Northwest a 9-8 lead. Bowers came up for his second at-bat of the inning and delivered a two-run single, followed by another RBI hit from Neuman to push the lead to 13-8 after a nine-run, eight-hit frame.
The Bearcats tacked on more in the eighth as Griffith's RBI single scored Williams, and Brooks cleared the bases with a double to left. Bowers capped the afternoon with a game-winning RBI groundout, sealing an 18-8 run-rule victory.
UP NEXT
The Bearcats and Lions will meet again tomorrow, March 22, for game two of the series. First pitch is set for 2 p.m., at Bearcat Baseball Field.
