MARYVILLE, Mo. -- The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team wrapped up its regular season with an 8-5 victory to sweep the Emporia State University Hornets on Senior Day Saturday at Bearcat Baseball Field.

With the win, the Bearcats move to 25-24 overall and 19-17 in MIAA play, as the Hornets fall to 23-24 and 16-20 in the conference.

Senior Dylan Hufft delivered a perfect 4-for-4 day with a double, a triple, two RBIs, and two runs scored, marking his 21st multi-hit game of the season and his second four-hit performance. Kaehukai Young also had a strong showing, going 3-for-5 with two RBIs.

On the mound, Logan Brasel (6-1) earned the win with 2.1 innings of relief, surrendering one run on four hits. Brock Steggall closed the final two innings to earn his third save of the season.

Northwest jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, sparked by a bases-loaded walk from Chester Brooks and a two-run double by Young. Alex Bowers added a sacrifice bunt to score Brooks from third.

Emporia State responded with two runs in the second and another in the third to close the gap to 4-3. Hufft extended the Bearcats' lead to 5-3 in the fourth with an RBI single, but the Hornets answered with a solo home run in the fifth to make it 5-4.

After two Hornet singles in the seventh, Landon Wells entered in relief and escaped the jam with a 3-6-3 double play. In the bottom half, the Bearcats tacked on two more runs following a leadoff walk by Neuman and three consecutive singles from Young, Wornson, and Bowers to make it 7-4.

Emporia trimmed the lead to 7-5 in the eighth on a sacrifice fly, but Hufft led off the bottom of the inning with his sixth triple of the season and later scored on a wild pitch to seal the 8-5 win and the sweep.
 
UP NEXT
Northwest Missouri State heads into the 2025 MIAA Tournament riding a three-game winning streak. The tournament is scheduled for May 7–11 at Warren Turner Field in Joplin, Mo. The Bearcats' seed will be announced later this afternoon.
 
NOTES
Hufft tallied his 21st multi-hit game this season…Young and Wornson ride a five-game hitting streak…Williams has reached base in 20 consecutive games…Hufft leads the 'Cats in batting average (.363), this (73), and triples (5)…Northwest topped its previous best mark of 18 conference wins in 2019 with 19 this season…The Bearcats will make back-to-back appearances in the MIAA Tournament for the first time since the 2018-2019 seasons.