MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Northwest Missouri State baseball team (12-12, 6-6 MIAA) clinched its fourth series with a win over Arkansas-Fort Smith, 5-2, in game two on Saturday at Bearcat Baseball Field.

Trailing 2-0 in the sixth, the Bearcat offense came alive with a five-run outburst. Kaehukai Young provided the go-ahead swing, launching his sixth home run of the season—a three-run shot to left—to give the Bearcats a 4-2 lead. Young finished the day 2-for-4, leading a balanced effort for the Bearcats with hits from Ashton Neuman, Dylan Hufft, Chester Brooks, Alex Bowers, and Jacob Selock.

Connor Polli (1-0) delivered a dominant relief performance, tossing four scoreless innings to earn his first win of the season. Polli allowed just three hits while striking out three, shutting down the Lions in the final frames.

Both teams struggled to generate offense early, combining for just two hits through three innings. UAFS struck first with a run in the fourth and added another in the fifth to take a 2-0 advantage.

Bearcat starter George Fisher kept Northwest within striking distance, working five innings while allowing two unearned runs on four hits, three walks, and two strikeouts, while Polli took over in the sixth.

Northwest responded in the bottom half as Selock led off with a walk, followed by a Neuman single. Hufft then reached on a pair of defensive miscues, allowing Selock to score and cut the deficit to 2-1. Young stepped to the plate and crushed the second pitch he saw over the left-field fence, flipping the script with a three-run blast. Later in the inning, Selock delivered an RBI single to hold the score to 5-2.

Polli made sure the lead held, silencing the UAFS bats the rest of the way to secure the Bearcats' series-clinching victory. 

UP NEXT
The Bearcats will look for the series sweep over the Lions tomorrow, March 23, at 1 p.m.