Make it seven wins in a row for the Northwest Missouri State baseball team who took both games of a double-header from Fort Hay State Thursday, winning game one 3-1 and taking game two 3-1 in walk-off fashion.
Austin Warren took the hill in game one and delivered a great performance to pick up his second win of the season. Warren needed only 78 pitches to get the complete game victory giving up four hits and one unearned run while striking out five.
Fort Hays and Northwest remained knotted up 0-0 until the Tigers struck in the top of the fourth inning plating the first run of the game.
The Bearcats answered in the bottom half of the fourth when Steven Garber ripped a double to left center field scoring Cam Bedard and Eric McGlauflin to go up 2-1. Paul Johnson came through with a two single to bring in Garber to add an insurance run and give his team a 3-1 lead.
Warren was able to shut the Tiger offense down the rest of the way out to secure the 3-1 victory.
Game two was another pitcher’s duel throughout the contest.
Bearcats starter Rob Henrichs went 7.0 strong innings allowing three hits and one earned run while striking out eight. While his counterpart, Alex Ellison, threw 8.1 innings of great baseball for the Tigers. Both starters received no decisions.
FHSU was able to get a run on the board in the fourth inning and held the 1-0 lead up until the bottom of the ninth.
Tyler Durant led off the ninth with a single to right center field, putting the tying run on first. Eric McGlauflin was able to put the sacrifice bunt down and move Durant to second base. Durant scampered home when Cam Bedard doubled to left center for the game tying RBI. Northwest was unable to get the winning run in as the game went into extra innings.
After the Tigers were shut down in the top half of the 10th inning, the Bearcats were ready to end the game. Ryan Abernathy walked to lead off the inning, and just like that the winning run was on first. Durant, who had scored the game tying run, was back up at the plate looking to win it. Durant took the first pitch of the at bat over the left center field wall for a two run home run that ended the game 3-1.
Nathanial Horton picked up the win in game two throwing the final 1.2 innings and striking out five.
Northwest improves to 21-25 on the season and 18-22 in the conference. Head Coach Darin Loe’s team will be back on the road this weekend taking on Pittsburg State for the final series of the season. Game one of the three game series is slated to start at 3 p.m. Saturday, with game two set to follow. The series finale will take place Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.
— Northwest Media Relations —