The Northwest Missouri State baseball team got a walk off single from Kevin Handzlik in the bottom of the ninth to beat Northeastern State, 5-4, on Friday afternoon at Bearcat Field.
The Bearcats moved to 6-4 and 1-0 in MIAA play. The RiverHawks fall to 6-4 overall and are 0-1 in conference action.
Northeastern State scored three runs in the top of the eighth to take a 4-3 lead but Northwest got two runs in the bottom of the ninth for the win.
Bryce Shea pitched 1.1 innings of relief for the win. He retired the last four batters of the game for Northwest with a strikeout.
Northwest scored five runs on nine hits. The Bearcats got two runs in the third, one in the seventh and two in the ninth. The RiverHawks scored one in the first and three in the eighth and finished with three hits. Neither team had an error.
Ozzie Adams was 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored and an RBI. Nick Gotta drew a pair of walks and got two RBI, including a walk to score the tying run in the ninth.
Derek Meyer was 2-for-3 as was Kolby Greenslade, who also scored a run, while Garrett Fort was 1-for-5 with a pair of runs scored.
Jay Hrdlicka was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk. Handzlik was 1-for-1 with the ninth inning walk off single. Aaron Barratt scored a run as a pinch runner in the seventh.
Joseph Hietpas started and went 7.0 innings, allowing two runs on two hits. Only one of the runs was earned. He had eight strikeouts and walked two.
The Bearcats got on the board in the third as Fort singled to lead off. Fort went to third on an Adams single, who went to second on the throw. Gotta hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Fort to tie it, 1-1. Adams moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a Hrdlicka single to right, giving Northwest a 2-1 lead.
Meyer led off the seventh with an infield single and Barratt came in to pinch run. Greenslade laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Barratt to second and he went to third on a Fort ground out. With two down, Adams singled to left, giving Northwest a 3-1 lead.
Down 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth, Zachary Douglas led off by getting hit by a pitch. After working a full count, Greenslade lined a ball at the third baseman who was playing in for the bunt. The ball got away for a single, putting runners on first and second with no outs. Fort reached on a fielder’s choice on a bunt back to the pitcher who threw to third to get Douglas out. With one down, Adams was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Gotta then drew a walk to tie the game, 4-4. Handzlik, who entered the game earlier as a pinch runner, laced a ball between short and third to drive in Fort for the winning run.
The Bearcats and the RiverHawks continue the three-game series on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.
— Northwest Athletics —