Needing a sweep of MIAA foe Southwest Baptist the Northwest Missouri State diamond Bearcats picked up two wins Friday with a 5-3 and 10-3 win in doubleheader action from Dodson Field.
Northwest saw its record improve to 12-23 overall and 11-14 in league play moving into a tie with Southwest Baptist at 11-14 in the MIAA as also fell to 16-18-1 overall. The two teams return to action on Saturday with a twin bill scheduled for 12 p.m.
Game one saw the Bearcats hold off a late rally from SBU after getting an outstanding effort from Chase Anderson on the mound. Anderson threw a complete game only allowing three runs in the win.
Anderson did his part keeping SBU off the base paths by walking none, for his fourth win of the season and striking out three.
Northwest would finish with 10 hits including four doubles in the game one win.
Eric McGlauflin put Northwest on the board in the top of the first inning with a ground out to the right side scoring Ryan Abernathy. Abernathy had led off the game with a single for his only hit of the game.
After scoring another run in the second, Northwest extended its lead to 4-1 on a Landinn Eckhardt squeeze play that scored Tyler Durant. Two batters later Jake Kretzer moved to third on a wild pitch and stole home extending the green and white lead.
A RBI double from Durant gave Northwest the final score of 5-3. However that would be all Northwest needed as Anderson only allowed two base runners over the final three innings, but would erase one of the runners on a pickoff in the sixth.
Game two was one of the most complete games Northwest has put together all season pounding out 10 runs on 13 hits and getting a complete game win from Jace Anderson. Anderson scattered nine SBU hits over nine innings only allowing three runs.
The green and white Bearcats would be paced offensively by Eric Swain who blasted a pair of home runs, his eighth and ninth of the season.
Swain’s first home run came in the top of the first to give Northwest an early lead. SBU would push a run across in the bottom to tie the game before the Northwest offense took over.
Northwest pushed four runs across in the next five innings to take a 5-1 lead. From there Anderson would go to work on the mound pitching six innings of scoreless baseball.
Swain would belt his second home run to lead off the seventh inning jump starting the Bearcat offense. Northwest went on to score five runs in the eighth and ninth for the 10-3 win.
Eckhardt and Swain both finished with three hits as Swain added four RBIs in the nightcap.
— NWMSU Sports Information —