PITTSBURG, Kan. – Senior Alex Bowers delivered a clutch go-ahead RBI double in the top of the 10th inning to power the Northwest Missouri State baseball team (26-24 overall) to a thrilling 6-5 quarterfinal victory over No. 3 seed Fort Hays State and into the MIAA Tournament semifinal round.

With two outs in the top of the 10th, Sam Wornson broke through with his first hit of the game—a single to left field. Bowers followed by driving a double into the opposite-field gap, allowing Wornson to score all the way from first. 

Brock Steggall secured the win in relief, tossing the final four innings without allowing a run and giving up just four hits. 

Dylan Hufft led off the game with a walk and scored on a Ryan Williams RBI double to give the Bearcats a 1-0 lead. Ashton Neuman followed with a triple down the right-field line to bring in Williams, and Kaehukai Young added a groundout RBI to plate Neuman for a quick 3-0 advantage after one inning.

Ben Haug worked around a pair of baserunners in the bottom of the first, keeping the Tigers off the board. In the second, Alex Bowers singled to right and later scored on a Hufft groundout, pushing the lead to 4-0.

Fort Hays responded with three runs in the second to trim the deficit to one. The Bearcats later chased MIAA Co-Pitcher of the Year, Ty Riley, in the fourth following a leadoff walk by Bowers.

The Tigers grabbed their first lead with single runs in the third and fifth, going up 5-4.

Northwest drew three straight walks to open the sixth, and Hufft's double play ball brought home Bowers to tie the game at 5-5. The Bearcats threatened again in the seventh when Neuman walked for the third time and advanced on a double by Brooks, but a strong throw from the Tigers' left fielder cut down Neuman at the plate.

Steggall entered in the seventh and delivered four shutout innings of relief. He escaped a jam in the frame with a 5-4-3 double play and kept the Tigers scoreless through the ninth.

In the top of the 10th with two outs, Wornson singled to left for his first hit of the game. Bowers then delivered the decisive blow—a double to the left-center gap that scored Wornson from first to give Northwest a 6-5 lead.

Steggall (6-2) finished the job in the bottom half, locking up the Bearcats' spot in the semifinals.

UP NEXT
Northwest is set to face No. 7 seed Washburn in the MIAA Tournament semifinals at 4 p.m. Friday, May 9 at Warren Turner Field in Joplin, Mo.
 
NOTES
Bowers worked a 2-for-3 day with a double and RBI while crossing the plate twice…Brooks recorded a two-hit day… Neuman drew a trio of walks to bring his record-setting season total to 59…Williams recorded his 20th double of the season to rank No. 3 in school history…Williams' 46 career doubles sit tied for No. 4 in program history…Northwest was outhit 13-to-7…the Bearcats stranded eight runners on the basepaths.