Missouri Western baseball concluded its first road trip in nearly a month Saturday, with a four-game series split at rival Northwest Missouri State.
The Griffons won game one 7-5, but were run-ruled 11-1 (eight innings) in game two to finish the weekend 2-2 against the Bearcats.
DH Nate Ramler led Western Saturday, going 4-8 with 3 RBI’s in the doubleheader.
The Griffons now stand 21-11 overall and 14-8 in MIAA conference play. Northwest is now 12-21 and 10-4 in the conference.
GAME 1
The Griffons fell behind early, but a four-run fifth inning proved to be the difference in game one.
Western catcher Tony Loeffler led off the top of the fifth with a solo home run–the first of his two-year career as a Griffon– to make it a 3-2 game. Grant Fink later tied the game with a two-out RBI single, and Nate Ramler followed with a two-run double to right center, which gave Western its first lead of the game at 5-3.
Andrew Pieper’s RBI base hit in the sixth inning gave Western a 6-3 lead. Northwest answered in the bottom of the sixth when Sean Garber hit a two-run home run off of Griffon starter Nik Jurado to cut the Griffon lead to one. Pitcher Jake Jones relieved Jurado and got Western out of a two-on, one out jam, by striking out two batters.
Jurado picked up the win for Western, improving his record to 5-0 this season. Jones picked up a five-out save, his fifth of the season.
The Griffons had 12 hits in the victory, with Ramler and Fink adding two hits a piece.
GAME 2
The Griffon bats went quiet in game two in an 11-1 run-rule loss in eight innings.
Northwest pitchers Sean Brady, Carson Smith and Pat Brady combined to four-hit the Griffons. The Bearcats, meanwhile, pounded out 14 hits, including catcher Landinn Eckhardt’s 3-run home run in the 8th inning to complete the win and force the series split.
Oliver Kadey took the loss for Western, giving up 2 runs and last just 1/3 of an inning.
Western’s road swing continues Tuesday with a doubleheader at Emporia State, and continues Friday with a four-game series at Pittsburg State.
— MWSU Sports Information —