After earning a split with the Riverhawks on Saturday Northwest Missouri State looked to do the same with Arkansas Tech Sunday afternoon. However the Bearcat bullpen faltered as the Wonder Boys took a 14-7 win at Rousey Field in non-conference college baseball action.
The Bearcats fell to 1-7 on the year as regional power, Arkansas Tech, moved to 7-6 on the season. Northwest opens MIAA action next weekend as they travel to Fort Hays State for a four-game series starting with a single nine inning game on Friday.
After falling behind 6-0 the Bearcat bats answered the call scoring three runs in the third inning and two more in the fourth to pull within one run.
Jake Kretzer led off with a single and one batter later Travis Green would double Kretzer home starting the rally. After a walk to Jon Pomatto, Ryan Abernathy would crush a bases clearing triple into the gap to make the score 6-3.
The Bearcats’ two runs in the fourth would also come via a Travis Green triple just ahead of a Kretzer’s sacrifice fly. Green went 3-for-4 on the day with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Northwest would scratch across runs in the fifth and another in the sixth on Abernathy’s fourth hit of the day driving home Green. The run pulled the Bearcats to within 11-7 as Abernathy finished 4-for-5 with three RBIs in the loss. Abernathy also extended his brief hitting streak to seven games.
However that would be as close as the Bearcats could get as Cody Hatman shut down Northwest out of the Wonder Boys’ bullpen. Hatman pitched five innings and scattered 10 hits, but only allowed the one run.
Northwest starter Chase Anderson only went 3.1 innings allowing five hits and six runs while walking three and striking out three.
Josh Parrish faced the same tough luck as he only lasted 2.2 innings giving up four hits and five runs. Only two of Parrish’s runs were earned however, as errors haunted the Bearcats in the Oklahoma finale.
Northwest finished with 17 hits on the day, a season high, however, the Bearcats gave up four home runs to Arkansas Tech as well.
— NWMSU Sports Information —