The Northwest Missouri State softball team honored eight seniors before the double-header Saturday against Washburn and they did not disappoint as they won game one 6-0 and took game two 15-6.

Jenna Creger took the circle for the Bearcats in game one and threw her 15th complete game shutout of her career. Creger allowed three hits, one walk and stuck out five on her way to her 11th victory of the season.

Northwest took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as Jordan Ereth scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Kristen Uthe.

The Bearcat offense struck again in the fourth inning putting up three runs on four hits. Hailee Hendricks led off the inning with a solo home run, her fifth of the season. Kristine Labertew knocked in Stephanie Price from third with a sacrifice fly to short centerfield. Kylie Cantrell hit the second home run of the inning to put her team up 4-0.

Candace Miller Scored in the fifth inning on a Hendricks single through the left side. Northwest added one more run in the sixth when Sara Krysl was plated from second base by Jordan Ereth who singled up the middle to go up 6-0.

Game two was full of offense as the Bearcats put up six runs on five hits in the bottom of the first inning.

Washburn was able to get two runs back in the third inning. The Northwest bats erupted again in the bottom half of the inning as they plated seven runs to go up 13-2.

The Lady Blues would not go quietly as they were able to put four runs on board in the top of the fourth. The Bearcats scored two runs on two hits in the bottom half and Paige Blythe was able to shut WU down in the top half of the fifth to walk away with the 15-6 victory.

Abbie Vitosh was the starter for Northwest but got the no decision. Senior Morgan Brunmeier picked up her third victory of the season for the Bearcats.

Head Coach Ryan Anderson picked up career victories 280 and 281 in the double-header sweep on Saturday. His team will be back in action on Sunday as the Bearcats will play host to Emporia State. Game one of the double-header is slated to start at noon with game two set to follow.

— Northwest Media Relations —

The Northwest Missouri State men’s tennis team needed a late surge to earn a 6-1 win over Nebraska-Kearney and advance to Sunday’s MIAA Championship match at Cooper Tennis Complex.

The Bearcats picked up early wins at No. 2 doubles from Alvaro Riveros and Guilherme Narducci. After the Lopers stole a point at No. 1 doubles the Bearcats rebounded to dominate singles action.

Sergio De Vilchez cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 1 singles while Rafael Bugiga earned a 6-2, 6-0 win at the No. 2 position.

Riveros and Jason Harris finished off the Lopers with wins at No. 4 and No. 6 singles to propel the Bearcats into Sunday’s championship match.

Northwest will meet up with Southwest Baptist in the MIAA Championship match for the third consecutive season. Northwest took the regular season meeting from SBU 5-3 as the two teams will meet at 9 a.m. for the 2013 MAIA Championship.

— Northwest Media Relations —

The Northwest Missouri State women’s tennis team fell to top seed Southwest Baptist, 6-0 Saturday in the MIAA Semifinals at the Cooper Tennis Complex.

Northwest dropped its second match of the season to SBU to fall to 13-10 overall.

SBU took all three doubles match winning at No.1 doubles 8-3 to drop Alexis Bartek and Camila Quesada. The duo saw their record fall to 15-6 on the season.

The purple and white Bearcats continued to roll in singles play winning at the No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5 positions for the 6-1 victory.

The closest match for Northwest came at No. 5 singles as Stephanie Mannix fell to Faiga Schmidt, 6-0, 6-3.

Northwest will close out the championships against Central Oklahoma in the third place match. First serve from the Cooper Tennis Complex is set for 11 a.m.

— Northwest Media Relations —

Click to view the new Northwest logos

For nearly two decades, Northwest Missouri State University athletics has been represented by the Bearcat paw. Today, Northwest is proud to unveil a modern and consistent brand that will carry the future of Bearcat athletics and uphold the history of the iconic logo.

“The paw has been and will continue to be Northwest Missouri State athletics. I feel I have as much invested in the paw over the last 20 years as anyone, and this modern look will serve Bearcat athletics well into the future,” said Northwest Director of Athletics Mel Tjeerdsma. “The integrity of the paw is still intact and will continue to bring pride to all Bearcats.”

The new logos include a modernized paw, new Bearcat head, new athletic marks and a unique font specific only to Northwest. In addition, Bobby Bearcat has been updated and brought back with a kid-friendly look. All the logos and marks were created in a way to help keep a consistent look for Northwest athletics both in print and apparel.

Several secondary logos were also created for use, including Bearcat eyes and claw marks. These marks add to the variety of logos for teams, fans and alumni to use when representing Northwest athletics.  The new set of unified marks was developed to build upon the tradition and pride associated with Bearcat athletics as well as to create a consistent brand ensuring easy recognition in the community, throughout the region and the country.

“The changing of the logo is about more than just changing the symbol that we wear on our jerseys,” said senior track and field athlete Adrienne Cornelius. “It’s about continuous improvement and striving to be the best we can be. We are building into the future and weaving into the Bearcat fabric a new look on our tradition of excellence.”

The process of updating the logos began more than a year ago. The new athletics marks were designed and developed by Rickabaugh Graphics, a company with extensive experience in collegiate athletics branding. Rickabaugh used input from many members of the Northwest community – including students and student-athletes, community members, Northwest coaches, alumni, faculty and staff – to create an array of designs that kept with the tradition of the original paw logo.

“I am a traditionalist when it comes to trends within college athletics and believe our new brand stays true to the paw,” head men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum said. “This new family of logos allows us to keep the foundation of the paw, but gives us an updated look and feel for the next generation of Bearcat athletics.”

“College athletics is going through an unprecedented change, and this modern look for our new family of logos will help Northwest stay current,” Tjeerdsma said. “The future is very bright for Northwest athletics, and this update represents that change in an excellent light.”

Along with the new branding for Northwest, the Department of Athletics has unveiled an online store, www.ShopBearcats.com that will offer a large selection of Bearcat apparel.

Bearcat Athletics has also partnered with several local merchants throughout the branding process to gather input and feedback and to assist in the development of the new logos.  The Bearcat Bookstore, along with Maryville retailers The Student Body and Jock’s Nitch Sporting Goods have provided assistance with Northwest’s unveiling event. All three retailers, as well as other area vendors, will carry merchandise bearing the new marks and have also provided items to the University for the unveiling ceremony.

— Northwest Media Relations —For nearly two decades, Northwest Missouri State University athletics has been represented by the Bearcat paw. Today, Northwest is proud to unveil a modern and consistent brand that will carry the future of Bearcat athletics and uphold the history of the iconic logo.

“The paw has been and will continue to be Northwest Missouri State athletics. I feel I have as much invested in the paw over the last 20 years as anyone, and this modern look will serve Bearcat athletics well into the future,” said Northwest Director of Athletics Mel Tjeerdsma. “The integrity of the paw is still intact and will continue to bring pride to all Bearcats.”

The new logos include a modernized paw, new Bearcat head, new athletic marks and a unique font specific only to Northwest. In addition, Bobby Bearcat has been updated and brought back with a kid-friendly look. All the logos and marks were created in a way to help keep a consistent look for Northwest athletics both in print and apparel.

Several secondary logos were also created for use, including Bearcat eyes and claw marks. These marks add to the variety of logos for teams, fans and alumni to use when representing Northwest athletics.  The new set of unified marks was developed to build upon the tradition and pride associated with Bearcat athletics as well as to create a consistent brand ensuring easy recognition in the community, throughout the region and the country.

“The changing of the logo is about more than just changing the symbol that we wear on our jerseys,” said senior track and field athlete Adrienne Cornelius. “It’s about continuous improvement and striving to be the best we can be. We are building into the future and weaving into the Bearcat fabric a new look on our tradition of excellence.”

The process of updating the logos began more than a year ago. The new athletics marks were designed and developed by Rickabaugh Graphics, a company with extensive experience in collegiate athletics branding. Rickabaugh used input from many members of the Northwest community – including students and student-athletes, community members, Northwest coaches, alumni, faculty and staff – to create an array of designs that kept with the tradition of the original paw logo.

“I am a traditionalist when it comes to trends within college athletics and believe our new brand stays true to the paw,” head men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum said. “This new family of logos allows us to keep the foundation of the paw, but gives us an updated look and feel for the next generation of Bearcat athletics.”

“College athletics is going through an unprecedented change, and this modern look for our new family of logos will help Northwest stay current,” Tjeerdsma said. “The future is very bright for Northwest athletics, and this update represents that change in an excellent light.”

Along with the new branding for Northwest, the Department of Athletics has unveiled an online store, www.ShopBearcats.com that will offer a large selection of Bearcat apparel.

Bearcat Athletics has also partnered with several local merchants throughout the branding process to gather input and feedback and to assist in the development of the new logos.  The Bearcat Bookstore, along with Maryville retailers The Student Body and Jock’s Nitch Sporting Goods have provided assistance with Northwest’s unveiling event. All three retailers, as well as other area vendors, will carry merchandise bearing the new marks and have also provided items to the University for the unveiling ceremony.

— Northwest Media Relations —

The Northwest Missouri State softball team had to overcome wind gusts over 30 mph to sweep Truman State Sunday at Bearcat Field winning game one 8-3 and game two 4-2.

Truman State took the lead in the third inning as they scored first going up 1-0. The Bearcats responded quickly in the bottom half of the inning putting up four runs of their own. Candace Miller doubled in Rachel Schmitz from third base for the team’s first run.  Hailee Hendricks singled to left field to plate Jordan Ereth. Miller and Hendricks both scored later in the inning to go up 4-1.

Schmitz stepped back up to the plate in the fourth inning and promptly hit her first home run of the year, a solo shot over the left field wall to put her team up 5-1.

The Bulldogs put up a single run in the top of the fifth inning to cut their deficit to three runs. In the bottom half of the inning Kristin Uthe came up with two runners on and hit a three run blast to go back up 8-2.

Truman State was able to scratch out one more run in the top of the sixth inning but that would be it as Jenna Creger picked up the win in the 8-3 victory. Creger snagged her 10th win of the season as she gave up three earned runs while striking out seven on her way to the complete game.

Abbie Vitosh got the ball for game two. Vitosh came into the game having won four of her last five starts and striking out a season high eight batters against Lindenwood on Saturday. The sophomore went the distance for the complete game victory giving up only four hits and allowing two earned runs.

Truman State went up early scoring one run in the third inning and adding another run in the fourth inning to go up 2-0.

Northwest started a two out nightmare for in the bottom of the fifth inning when Schmitz dropped her second home run of the day to dead center field to cut the lead in half. Ereth then came up and beat out an infield single and later scored on a two out triple by Miller to tie the game up at 2-2.

Uthe double to lead off the sixth inning and was pinch ran for by Sarah Krysl. Krysl scored off the bat of Kristine Labertew who singled up the middle to get the RBI. Schmitz put an exclamation point on her day by hitting a sacrifice fly to right center field that scored Stephanie Price from third for the final run of the ball game as the Bearcats won 4-2.

Rachel Schmitz was 3 for 5 at the plate in both games hitting two home runs, with three RBIs, scoring three runs and having 26 putouts at first base.

Northwest improves their record to 22-12 and 10-8 in MIAA play. The Bearcats will be back in action on Bearcat Field taking on Emporia State Friday in a double-header slated to start at 2 p.m. with game two set to follow. The seniors will be honored during Saturday’s double-header against Washburn as first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —