The double-header did not go as planned for the Northwest Missouri State softball team Saturday as they dropped both games to Northeastern State losing game one 3-1 and game two by the same score.

Both starting pitchers cruised through the first three innings until the Bearcats plated a run in the fourth to get on the board first. Stephanie Price led off the inning with a single and was knocked in by Kylie Cantrell who singled through the right side to put her team up 1-0.

Jenna Creger shut down the RiverHawk offense allowing five hits and striking out six through the first five innings. Northeastern was able to get to the Bearcat pitcher in the sixth inning getting three runs on three hits to go up 3-1.

Northwest managed one hit in the top of the seventh, but could not muster a comeback. Creger was tagged with the loss moving her record to 12-8 on the season.

The RiverHawks scored first in game two putting up the only three runs they would score all game in the second inning. From there it was up to the Bearcats to play catch up.

Northwest scored their lone run in the top of the fifth inning when Kristine Labertew hit a solo home run over the left field fence.

Abbie Vitosh went the distance for the complete game in the 3-1 loss. Vitosh allowed five hits giving up three earned runs and striking out one.

The Bearcats move to 25-15, 13-11 on the season. It will be a quick turn-around for Head Coach Ryan Anderson’s team as they will take on No. 21 Central Oklahoma Sunday for a two game set. First pitch in Edmond, Okla. is scheduled for noon with game two set to follow.

— Northwest Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State golf team had a solid spring season with a second place finish at the Early Bird Invitational and a third place finish at the MIAA Championship and continue their Spring success as Cassie Lowell has been named First Team All-MIAA.

Cassie Lowell continues her outstanding career at Northwest after finishing her junior season. Lowell began her career winning MIAA freshman of the year in 2010-11. Her sophomore season, Lowell was named MIAA Player of the Year. Friday, the junior continued her impressive resume by being tabbed First Team All-MIAA.

Lowell had an impressive season winning the first tournament of the year at the Graceland Fall Invitational. The junior continued her solid fall season finishing second at the Bearcat Classic. At the MIAA Championship, Lowell shot a 76 and finished tied for third.

Cassie Lowell played 15 rounds in 2012-13 and averaged 80.73

— Northwest Sports Information —

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 —

A trio from Northwest Missouri State men’s tennis team earned first team selections for the league champions as the MIAA announced conference accolades Thursday.

Highlighting the honors were freshman Sergio De Vilchez who was tabbed Freshman of the Year, while Mark Rosewell earned his third straight Coach of the Year award. Guilherme Narducci also earned the Sportsmanship Award giving the Bearcat men’s and women’s teams a sweep of the award.

Alvaro Riveros and Narducci picked up first team honors at No. 4 and No. 5 singles, respectively. Riveros finished the regular season 18-2 while Narducci recorded an 18-5 mark at No. 5 singles.

Lluis Altimires and De Vilchez were tabbed to the first team at No. 1 doubles after an impressive 24-5 record during the regular season. The duo also currently carries a nine match winning streak into Saturday’s NCAA Central Region match against Washburn.

De Vilchez picked up second team honors at No. 1 singles while Altimires and Jason Harris joined him at No. 3 and No. 6 singles. Harris was also impressive at No. 6 singles posting a 21-4 record and holds an 11 match winning streak.

Narducci and Riveros earned a spot on the all-MIAA second team at No. 2 doubles while Rafael Bugiga and Dylan Bernatzky earned Honorable Mention accolades. Harris and Bernatzky also earned Honorable Mention honors at No. 3 doubles.

Northwest opens postseason play Saturday against Washburn in the first round of the NCAA Central Region tournament. Action from Grube Courts is scheduled to start at 10 a.m.

— Northwest Media Relations —

After helping the Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team return to the MIAA Tournament, head coach Mark Kellogg has accepted the same position at West Texas A&M University of the Lone Star Conference.

Kellogg was hired at Northwest April 10, 2012 after a successful tenure at Fort Lewis College that included a national runner-up finish during the 2009-10 season. In his one season at Northwest, Kellogg guided the Bearcats to a 15-13 overall record and advanced to the second round of the MIAA Tournament.

“We are disappointed to lose Mark after only one year. However, when the opportunity comes to return home and be closer to family we certainly wish him, Trisha and their family the best,” said Director of Athletics Mel Tjeerdsma. “We will move quickly to secure a high quality replacement who will build on the momentum of this past season. Our goal is to have a team of outstanding young women who will take our program to the top of the MIAA and reach national prominence.”

The Richardson, Texas native replaced Gene Steinmeyer who retired after the 2011-12 campaign. Steinmeyer stepped down after 13 seasons at Northwest.

A national search for Kellogg’s replacement will begin immediately.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State men’s tennis team will make its eighth consecutive NCAA appearance as the Bearcats were named the No. 2 seed in the Central Region Tuesday night.

The Bearcats will host MIAA rival Washburn at Frank Grube Courts this weekend – official date and time will be announced later this week. Northwest won its fourth straight MIAA Championship Sunday with a 5-1 win over Southwest Baptist to finish 19-3 on the regular season.

In the regular season meeting between the Bearcats and Ichabods, Northwest claimed a 5-2 win in St. Joseph. The Bearcats are currently riding a 12 match winning streak.

No. 1 seed Ouachita Baptist will host No. 4 seed Southwest Baptist with winners of both matches advancing to the Round of 16 May 8 in Surprise, Ariz. The NCAA II National Championship match is set for May 11 at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State baseball team scored in every inning but two completing a sweep of Lincoln with a 10-3 win Sunday.

The Bearcats extended their winning streak five games with the sweep and improved to 19-25 on the season.

Another solid pitching performance from the Bearcats helped Northwest hold Lincoln at bay. Chase Anderson picked up the win after scattering 11 hits over seven innings of work and only allowing one earned run.

Northwest jumped out to a 2-0 lead when Eric McGlauflin doubled home Eric Swain and Brandon Huske. Swain and Huske both walked to set the table for McGlauflin who finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs.

After Lincoln scratched a run across in the top of the third and another in the fourth, the Bearcats answered with two more in the bottom half of the fourth. Huske singled home Steven Garber before Cameron Bedard stole home. Huske finished the afternoon 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI.

The Bearcats added another run in the sixth and two more in the seventh to break the game open and take a 8-2 lead.

The Blue Tigers pushed one more run across in the eighth, but the Bearcat offense continued to roll adding a pair of hits as they finished with nine. Eric Swain belted a double to left scoring Huske and Ryan Abernathy for the final 10-3 score.

Northwest closes out its regular season home schedule with a double-header against Fort Hays State. The Bearcats and Tigers are scheduled for a first pitch at 1 p.m. from Bearcat Field.

— Northwest Sports Information —

It was a good weekend for the Northwest Missouri State softball team who went 3-1 in four games after splitting a double-header Sunday with Emporia State winning game one 4-3 and dropping game two 6-1.

ESU scored first in the top of the second inning going up 1-0. Northwest was able to tie the game up in the third inning when Rachael Schmitz scored from third on a passed ball.

The bats came alive in the fourth inning for the Bearcats as they were able to plate three runs on two hits. Stephanie Price led off the inning with her team leading seventh home run of the season to go up 2-1. Kristine Labertew reached first base on a walk and was knocked in by Schmitz who hit the team’s second home run of the inning to put her team on top 4-1.

The Hornets battled back in the sixth to bring them within one, down 4-3. Jenna Creger was able to shut the comeback down to get her second complete game victory in as many days. Creger allowed five hits, no walks and struck out five on her way to her 12th victory of the season.

ESU jumped out to an early lead in game two when the leadoff batter hit a solo home run to center field to take a 1-0 lead.

The Hornets added another run in the third inning and four more runs in the top of the seventh to take a 6-0 lead. Price was able to end the shutout when she hit a double to left center to score Hailee Hendricks from second as the Bearcats fell 6-1.

Abbie Vitosh was tagged with the loss in game two.

Northwest moves to 25-12, 13-8 on the season. The Bearcats will be back in action on Bearcat Field Tuesday to take on Lincoln University in a double-header with game one set to start at 2 p.m. with game two set to follow.

— Northwest Sports Information —

For the fourth time in four years the Northwest Missouri State men’s tennis team claimed the MIAA Men’s Tennis Championship with a 5-1 win over Southwest Baptist Sunday morning.

Northwest won its 12th straight match and improved to 19-3 on the season. The championship is the fourth straight for the Bearcats and 18th overall – prior to the 2009-10 the MIAA awarded the league title to only the tournament champion.

Northwest picked up wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles as Alvaro Riveros and Guilherme Narducci claimed the 8-2 win. The victory moved the duo’s record to 9-1 at the No. 2 position this season.

Singles action saw the green and white Bearcats roll with wins at No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 singles. The win at No. 4 singles was the 12th straight for Riveros as he picked up a 6-3, 6-2 win.

Harris also picked up his 11th consecutive victory at the No. 6 position with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Guido Margiotta.

Northwest will now wait to see if they host a Central Region match, which will be announced Tuesday. The Bearcats are also looking for their eighth straight NCAA tournament appearance.

— Northwest Sports Information —

A pair of solid pitching performances bookended a double-header sweep of Lincoln Saturday taking game one 7-0 before the Northwest Missouri State baseball team held off the Blue Tigers in the second game 8-3.

Ryker Fox threw his second complete game of the season as the junior scattered just three hits over seven innings for his fifth win. Fox also struck out nine as the Northwest offense provided the fire power to aid in the victory.

Northwest scored runs in each of the first three innings to build a 6-0 lead. Ryan Abernathy drove a one-out double into the gap to score Charlie Krueger and Steven Garber in the bottom of the second giving the Bearcats a 3-0 lead.

Krueger would answer in the bottom of the third as he lifted one out single to left scoring Eric McGlauflin and Tyler Durant. On the very next pitch Krueger would come around to score as Garber belted a double off the center field wall pushing the Northwest lead to six.

Garber would record his second RBI of the game with a single in the fifth to give the Bearcats an insurance run.

Game two saw another strong outing on the mound from the Bearcats as Marcus Garrett picked up his third win of the year.

Garrett allowed just one hit over seven innings while striking out six. The bullpen also carried the Bearcats as Blane Reutter and Patrick Brady pitched the eighth and ninth innings to help preserve the win.

The offense again provided the power needed as the Bearcats scored runs in each of the first four runs to build a 6-0 lead. After a sacrifice fly from Tyler Durant in the first inning plated Abernathy Northwest added two more runs in the second.

Garber doubled home Paul Johnson before Brandon Huske singled home Garber to give the Bearcats a three run lead.

The Blue Tigers would post a small rally in the top of the sixth scratching one run across before getting two more runs in the eighth. However, the Bearcats would add the two runs back in the bottom of the eighth as Brady shut the door in the ninth for the 8-3 win.

The Bearcats and Blue Tigers close out the series Sunday with a single game at Bearcat Field. First pitch is slated for noon.

— Northwest Media Relations —