PITTSBURG, Kansas – The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team saw its season come to an end Friday as the Lindenwood University Lions posted a 4-3 victory in an elimination game in the MIAA Tournament.
Lindenwood (28-24 overall) used a one-out, ninth-inning solo home run by Mitchell Krebs off Northwest closer Trevor Dudar for the deciding run in the contest. Northwest concludes the 2019 season with a mark of 23-27.
Lindenwood drew first blood with a run in the top of the third. Calvin Nowak led off the inning with a triple to the right field wall. Nowak then scored on a sacrifice fly from Kolby Schulte.
The Lions extended the margin to 2-0 in the fourth inning on another sacrifice fly. Bryce Beckmann singled to right on an 0-2 count. Beckmann stole second and moved to third as the throw down to second from Jay Hrdlicka ended up in center field. Ryan Venne drove a ball deep enough to left to plate Beckmann for the second run of the game.
Northwest manufactured a run in the fifth without the benefit of a hit. Derek Hussey drew a leadoff walk. Hussey moved up to second on a wild pitch. Pinch hitter Enrique Gonzalez grounded out and Hussey took third on the play. Jay Hrdlicka delivered a sacrifice fly to left that allowed Hussey to gallop home and cut the lead to 2-1.
The Bearcats evened the matchup at 2-2 in the sixth. With one out Peter Carlson and Calvin Rudolph drew back-to-back walks. Quick followed with a single to load the bases. Matt Gastner came through with a sac fly that scored Carlson to tie it up.
Lindenwood retook the lead in the seventh with an unearned run off Northwest starting pitcher Quintin Van Ackeren. Venne led off with a ball hit down the first-base line that Quick could not handle and allowed Venne to reach second. Kolby Schulte singled up the middle that allowed Venne to score from second and give the Lions a 3-2 lead. Van Ackeren gave up another single and was relieved by Ethan Griswold. Griswold extinguished the rally by retiring both batters he faced.
This back-and-forth affair was evened up again in the seventh when Hrdlicka ripped an RBI double to left on an 0-2 count. Gonzalez had led off the seventh with a single and flew around the bases on Hrdlicka’s drive to left that left the score tied at 3-3.
Dudar came on in relief in the top of the eighth with a runner on. Dudar allowed a stolen base and a walk but shut down the Lions’s rally with a pair of strikeouts and kept the contest at 3-3.
Dudar struck out Lindenwood’s Schulte to start the ninth. However, Krebs hit the first pitch he saw for a home run to right to give the Lions a 4-3 advantage.
Northwest’s Gonzalez worked a leadoff walk in the ninth. Head coach Darin Loe sent Jonathan Hernandez in to pinch run for Gonzalez. Hrdlicka advanced Hernandez to second with a successful sacrifice bunt back to the pitcher. Second baseman Tim Olson, who came in as a defensive replacement, struck out in his only plate appearance in the game for the second out in the ninth. Shortstop Logan Rycraft popped out to first for the final out.
Van Ackeren had a no decision as he went 6 1/3 innings on the mound. Van Ackeren gave up 10 hits, three runs (two earned) and struck out two.
NOTES: Lindendwood outhit Northwest, 14-4 … Northwest’s four hits came from Rudolph, Quick, Gonzalez and Hrdlicka … Hrdlicka tallied a team-best two RBI … Gastner had Northwest’s other RBI … Rudolph posted Northwest’s only stolen base in the game … Dudar suffered the loss to fall to 3-4 on the year.
— Northwest Athletics —