PITTSBURG, Kansas – The Pittsburg State University Gorillas softball team scored a pair of victories over the Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats on Friday.

The Gorillas topped the Bearcats in game one, 8-4, and followed it up with a 7-4 victory in the second contest.

Game One
The Bearcats were the first to score in the top of the second. Jaclyn Weydert singled through the left side and advanced to second on the throw, allowing Karli Allen and Kiana Baderdeen to score and give Northwest a 2-0 lead.

The Gorillas answered in the bottom of the third with to home runs from Madison Wegner and Mackenzie Goswick to tie the game at 2-2.

Pitt State scored again in the bottom of the fourth from another home run to go up, 3-2.

Sydne Brashear hit a two-run homer to center in the top of the fifth give Northwest a 4-3 lead on the road.

Pitt State rallied in the bottom of the sixth inning scoring five runs and grabbed the win over the Bearcats, 8-4.

Game Two
Jaclyn Weydert scored off a fielding error in the second and to grab a 1-0 lead.

In the top of the third, Karli Allen hit a two-run homer to advance the lead 3-0 over the Gorillas.

Pitt State answered in the bottom of the third scoring three runs to tie the game. The Gorillas scored another run in the fourth inning to grab the lead 4-3 over the Bearcats.

Jaedra Moses singled up the middle in the top of the sixth inning to bring in Jacee Winn to score and tie the game at 4-4.

The Gorillas scored three runs in the sixth and held off the Bearcats to take game two, 7-4.

The Bearcats are back in action Saturday in Joplin, Missouri to take on the Missouri Southern Lions at 9 a.m.

NOTES: Jaedra Moses, who tallied three hits on the day, leads the squad with a batting average of .404 … Moses has a team-high 42 hits in 2019 … the home run was Allen’s sixth this season.

— Northwest Athletics —

KANSAS CITY, Kansas – The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team dropped a 3-2 non-conference decision to the Pittsburg State University at the Kansas City T-Bones Stadium.

Alixon Herrera ripped a two-out double to the deepest part of the park to score Connor Quick in the first and give the Bearcats a 1-0 lead.

Bearcat starter Gibson Brown allowed one unearned run on four hits as he worked the first five innings on the hill.

Northwest added an unearned run of its own in the bottom of the fifth. Calvin Rudolph reached on a throwing error by Pittsburg State shortstop Tyson Cushman. Rudolph moved up to second on a passed ball by PSU catcher Caleb Cox. Quick followed with a double down the left field line to plate Rudolph and give Northwest a 2-1 lead.

The Gorillas rallied off Bearcat closer Trevor Dudar in the eighth and ninth innings. Pittsburg State scored on a bases loaded walk with two outs in the eighth to tie the game at 3-3. The Gorillas then scored the go-ahead run in the ninth after three walks and a sacrifice fly.

Northwest drops to 17-16 overall, while Pittsburg State moves to 18-16 on the year.

The Bearcats will return to action Friday at 3 p.m. at Missouri Western. The Bearcats and Griffons will play a three-game set in St. Joseph.

NOTES: Connor Quick had a three-hit night as he went 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI … Alex Slocum pitched 1 2/3 innings and gave up one hits and struck out two in relief of the starter Brown … Dudar pitched 1 1/3 innings and gave up no hits, but walked five.

— Northwest Athletics —

Northwest Missouri State junior long jumper Marcus Klein has been named the MIAA field athlete of the week.

Klein (Harlan, Iowa) automatically qualified for the NCAA outdoor track and field championship meet in the long jump with a series of jumps measuring – 7.61m, 7.61m, 7.75m and 7.75m – at the SBU Bearcat Invitational in Bolivar, Missouri. The 7.75 meter jump converts to 25′ 5.25″, which bests the previous school mark set by Matt Abele in 2001 (25’1.5″). Klein’s jump ranks No. 2 in the nation in the long jump among NCAA Division II competitors.

Earlier this spring, Klein captured the MIAA indoor title in the long jump.

— Northwest Athletics —

MARYVILLE, Missouri – The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team completed a three-game sweep of Fort Hays State Sunday at the Bearcat Baseball Field.

Northwest defeated FHSU in seven innings, 16-1. Northwest has won a season-high six straight games. The Bearcats improved to 17-15 overall and 13-8 in MIAA play, while the Tigers fell to 3-27 overall and 2-19 in league play.

Starter Joe Funkhouser went the distance on the hill and allowed four hits and one run, while striking out seven. Funkhouser did not allow a hit in his final three innings of work. The Tigers had only one inning of putting multiple runners on base. Funkhouser earned his third win of the season.

With Funkhouser dealing on the mound, the Bearcat bats were sizzling. Northwest pounded out 17 hits and scored in five of its six at bats. Eight Northwest players scored two runs in the contest.

Alixon Herrera went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and four RBI. Derek Hussey recorded his seventh three-hit game this season. Matt Gastner knocked in three runs.

Northwest will return to action Tuesday at 6 p.m. at T-Bones Ballpark in Kansas City. Northwest will meet the Pittsburg State Gorillas in a non-conference matchup.

NOTES: Connor Quick is batting a team-best .380 with 46 hits … Gastner ranks second on the squad with a .377 average … Quick and Herrera are tied for the team lead with 11 doubles … Herrera leads the squad with 28 RBI.

— Northwest Athletics —

HAYS, Kansas – The Northwest Missouri State University softball team dropped both games of a doubleheader at Fort Hays State on Sunday.

The Tigers won the contests by scores of 14-6 and 8-6.

Game One
Northwest started the game strong scoring two runs in the first inning. Erin Keeney hit a sacrifice fly to center field to allow Olivia Daugherty to score. Kiana Baderdeen singled to center field, bringing in Jaedra Moses to score and grab a 2-0 lead.

Fort Hays scored six runs in the bottom of the first inning, taking the lead 6-2.

Keeney got an RBI in the top of the third bringing in Daugherty to score, cutting the lead 6-3.

Fort Hays added seven more runs in the bottom of the third, advancing the lead to 13-3.

Karli Allen led off the fourth for the Bearcats with a homer to left field. Keeney singled to right field, bringing in Moses and Daugherty to score, cutting the lead to 13-6.

The Tigers scored another run in the bottom of the fourth inning, pushing the lead to 14-6 over the Bearcats and taking the win in five innings.

Game Two
Kiana Baderdeen singled to center in the top of the first, allowing Olivia Daugherty to score and go up 1-0 over the Tigers.

Fort Hays answered in the bottom of the first to tie the game 1-1.

The Tigers’ bats stayed strong in the bottom of the second scoring six more runs and taking the lead 7-1.

Jaedra Moses scored in the top of the third off an error by the third basemen. Jaclyn Weydert singled to left field, allowing Erin Keeney to score and cutting the Tigers’ lead 7-3.

Fort Hays scored one run in the bottom of the fourth from a Northwest error, pushing the lead 8-3.

The Bearcats scored three more runs in the top of the seventh. Karli Allen singled to right center bringing in Keeney to score. Weydert doubled down the infield line to allow Kenzi Sutton to score. Jacee Winn singled through the left side bringing in Ady Watts to score.

The seventh inning rally wasn’t enough as the Tigers went on to win game two 8-6.

Up next for the Bearcats is another road trip to Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern.

— Northwest Athletics —

MARYVILLE, Missouri – The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team ran its season-high win streak to five in a row with a 4-3 triumph over the Fort Hays State Tigers on Saturday at the Bearcat Baseball Field.

Northwest (16-15 overall, 12-8 MIAA) got a three-hit performance from shortstop Logan Rycraft and six solid innings from starter Quintin Van Ackeren.

The Bearcats found themselves in an early hole as the Tigers touched up Van Ackeren for three runs in the first.

Northwest began chipping away at the three-run deficit in the home half of the third. Senior outfielder Derek Hussey led off the inning reaching base on an error. Hussey advanced on the next at bat on a successful sacrifice bunt by senior infielder Logan Rycraft. With two outs, junior infielder stepped into the batter’s box, slapping a single to center field and scoring Hussey from second base.

The Bearcats tied it up in the fourth. Senior Mondesi Gutierrez worked the count and drew a one-out walk. Hussey followed with his second hit of the game – a two-out double to deep left that plated Gutierrez all the way from first. Rycraft came through again with the first of his three hits with a single to center to score Hussey and knot the contest at 3-3.

Northwest took the lead of the contest in the fifth. Calvin Rudoph led off the inning with a single to right. Alixon Herrera tattooed a double down the left field line to move Hussey to third. Matt Gastner hit a sacrifice fly to right that was deep enough for Hussey to tag and score and give Northwest a 4-3 advantage.

Van Ackeren worked around a one-out walk in the sixth and head coach Darin Loe turned it over to the Bearcat bullpen. Alex Slocum worked a perfect seventh and Aaron Easley took advantage of a double play in the eighth to keep the Tigers off the board. Trevor Dudar closed the door in the ninth for his seventh save of the season.

The Bearcats will be back in action Sunday to play game three of the series against the Tigers. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.

NOTES: Rycraft recorded his third three-hit game of the season … Hussey notched his 14th multi-hit contest on the year … Rudolph extended his hitting streak to a team-best 11 games in a row … Connor Quick moved his team-leading on-base streak to 15 games.

— Northwest Athletics —

KEARNEY, Nebraska – The Northwest Missouri State University softball team came up short in a pair of one-run decisions at the University of Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday.

UNK won by scores of 7-6 and 4-3.

Game One
The Bearcats scored in the first inning on an RBI from Kaitlyn Weis allowing Olivia Daugherty to cross the plate, grabbing a 1-0 lead.

The Lopers answered in the bottom of the first with an RBI, tying the game 1-1. Nebraska-Kearney scored four runs in the bottom of the third, pushing the lead 5-1 over the Bearcats. The Lopers scored two more runs in the bottom of the fifth, advancing its lead to 7-1.

The Bearcats rallied in the top of the sixth scoring five runs. Kiana Baderdeen had an RBI allowing Daugherty to score. Sydne Brashear hit a three-run homer to left field. Next at bat, Karli Allen homered to left field.

The sixth inning rally wasn’t enough for the Bearcats as the Lopers went on to win, 7-6.

Game Two
The Bearcats were the first to score again in the top of the fourth inning. Kiana Baderdeen had an RBI single to right field, bringing in Jaedra Moses to score. Karli Allen hit a sacrifice fly to right field, allowing Kaitlyn Weis to score to grab a 2-0 lead.

Nebraska-Kearney scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take the lead 3-2 over the Bearcats.

Weis doubled to left center in the top of the fifth, allowing Ady Watts to score and tie the game at 3-3.

The Lopers scored one run in the bottom of the fifth to retake the lead and the contest, 4-3.
The Bearcats will be back in action Sunday in a doubleheader against Fort Hays State in Hays, Kansas beginning at 12 p.m.

NOTES: Kaitlyn Weis leads the squad with a batting average of .421 … she has also tallied eight home runs and 21 RBI … Olivia Daugherty is slugging .412 with four home runs and 21 RBI … Erin Keeney leads the squad in RBI with 30 Keeney has also registered six home runs and is batting .295.

— Northwest Athletics —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After another incredible season of basketball across the country, Small College Basketball has selected nine of the finest men’s basketball players who compete in the affiliations of NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA Division I, NAIA Division II, USCAA and NCCAA, as finalists for the 2019 Bevo Francis Award.

Northwest Missouri State senior guard Joey Witthus (Chanhassen, Minnesota) is one of the nine finalists. Witthus, the MIAA player of the year and most outstanding player at the MIAA tournament, averaged a team-best 21.1 points per game and shot 50.9 percent from the field. Witthus buried an-MIAA high 114 three-pointers, and he shot 45.2 percent from beyond the three-point arc. Witthus led Northwest in free throws made (170) and he shot 86.3 percent from the free throw line. Witthus earned a spot in the Elite Eight All-Tournament team after helping lead Northwest to the 2019 NCAA Division II national championship. Witthus has earned All-America honors from the NABC, Basketball Times and D2CCA.

This marks the fourth season of the Bevo Francis Award, as the award was previously given to Dominez Burnett of Davenport (Mich.) in 2016, Justin Pitts of Northwest Missouri State in 2017 and Emanuel Terry of Lincoln Memorial last season.

“Congratulations to the finalists for the 2019 Bevo Francis Award,” said Small College Basketball Founder, John McCarthy. “This is an incredibly elite group of players, as they were selected from over 1,100 schools; as such, these nine players were selected from approximately 13,000 – 16,000 players throughout the country…..THAT’S elite!

“Not only did each player have an outstanding individual season, but they also led their respective team to a tremendous year. Every team represented by the finalists made their respective national tournament. I am very grateful to our National Awards Committee, as they have provided a tremendous amount of information and done background checks on every one of our finalists. Truly, it’s a tremendous honor to be named as finalist for the prestigious Bevo Francis Award, and I am very pleased for each of them, as they earned this distinction.”

Members of the Bevo Francis Award committee include the following coaches: Tobin Anderson – St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.), Gerald Holmes – Bloomfield (N.J.), Gary Stewart – Stevenson (Md.), Arlen Galloway – Wentworth (Mass.), Chris Briggs – Georgetown (Ky.), Bill Dreikosen – Rocky Mountain (Mont.), Klint Pleasant – Rochester (Mich.), Ryan Kane – Ripon (Wisc.), Mark Berokoff – Hillsdale Baptist (Okla.), Mike Donnelly – Florida Southern, Rhett Soliday – Vanguard (Calif.), Sam Hargraves – Alma (Mich.) and Ryan Looney – Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.).

The nine finalists for the 2019 Bevo Francis Award include:

Aston Francis, Wheaton
Jeff Garrett, LSU-Shreveport
Tim Guers, St. Anselm
Daulton Hommes, Point Loma Nazarene
Cameron Hunt, Southwestern
Jonathan Lawton, Florida Southern
Sam Vander Sluis, Cornerstone
Will Vorhees, Notre Dame College
Joey Witthus, NW MO State

The committee chose this elite group from over 1,100 colleges and universities and took into consideration individual statistics, previous awards, milestones and team success.

The 2019 Bevo Francis Award winner will be announced on April 8. The award will be presented to the award winner on May 11 at the SCB National Awards Show in conjunction with the SCB Alumni Association’s Celebration of the Game event at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.

Small College Basketball is very grateful to the University of Rio Grande and Sheward-Fulks Insurance for their sponsorship and support of the Bevo Francis award.

— Northwest Athletics —

MARYVILLE, Missouri – Max Spitzmiller was dealing on the mound for the Northwest Missouri State baseball team as he dialed up 7 1/3 innings of scoreless ball en route to a 9-2 victory for the Bearcats over the visiting Fort Hays State Tigers.

Northwest’s offense heated up, scoring two runs in the home half of the third inning. Sophomore infielder Peter Carlson singled to left field and was advanced to third base on the next at bat after junior infielder Calvin Rudolph reached on an error. Junior first baseman Connor Quick recorded his first RBI of the game, scoring Carlson and giving the Bearcats runners on first and second. A fielder’s choice advanced Rudolph to third base and he scored when sophomore infielder Matt Gastner slapped a single up the middle.

The Bearcats got on the board again in the fifth inning, scoring an additional seven runs to bring their lead to 9-0 over the Tigers. Successful small-ball advanced Northwest baserunners around the diamond, including doubles hit by senior catcher Alixon Herrera and senior infielder Logan Rycraft. Northwest scored seven runs on eight hits and left two on base.

The sophomore Spitzmiller got the start on the bump for Northwest. Spitzmiller tossed seven and 1/3 innings shutout innings for the Bearcats, giving up five hits and striking out four Fort Hays State batters.

Senior righty Jarrett Cronin relieved Spitzmiller of his duties on the mound, pitching the final one and 2/3 innings. Cronin gave up two runs (two earned) on one hit and struck out two. The Tigers tacked on two runs in the top of the ninth coming off of a two-run shot to left field by junior catcher Jared Maneth.

Northwest will be back in action Saturday, Feb. 6 for game two of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Bearcat Baseball Field.

NOTES: Northwest has won a season-best four games in a row … Northwest is 15-15 on the season and 11-8 in MIAA play … Rudolph extended his hitting streak ot 10 games … Quick (14) and Rudolph (11) extend their on-base streaks.

— Northwest Athletics —

Northwest Missouri State University’s Ben McCollum is the 2019 recipient of the John McLendon Collegiate Basketball Coach of the Year award as presented by CollegeInsider.com.

McCollum led the Bearcats to a perfect 38-0 record and the NCAA Division II national championship. Northwest became only the fifth program to complete an undefeated season and capture the NCAA Division II national title.

McCollum has guided the Bearcats to six straight MIAA regular season titles and four consecutive MIAA tournament crowns. In 10 seasons at Northwest, McCollum has an overall record of 241-75. In NCAA tournament play, McCollum has a mark of 19-5 with two national championships (2017, 2019).

The Storm Lake, Iowa, native is the first non-Division I head coach to receive the McLendon Award.

The John McLendon Award is presented annually to the top collegiate head coach and includes Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA and NJCAA.

A trailblazer and one of the true pioneers of the game, McLendon became the first African American coach to win an integrated national championship. His team went on to win the NAIA Division I Men’s Tournament in 1957, 1958 and 1959, making him the first coach in history to win three consecutive NAIA championships.

In 1962 he became the first African American head coach in a major professional league (ABL) with the Cleveland Pipers. In 1966 he became the first African American head coach of predominantly-white university, when he took over the Cleveland State program. He led the team to their best record in school history.

In 1969, McLendon was hired by the Denver Rockets and became the first African American head coach in the American Basketball Association. After a brief stint with the Rockets, McLendon ended his 25-year professional coaching career with a winning percentage of .760 and a lifetime career average of 523 victories and 165 losses.

Past McLendon Award Recipients
2018 – Chris Beard (Texas Tech)
2017 – Chris Holtmann (Ohio State)
2016 – King Rice (Monmouth)
2015 – Jim Engles (New Jersey Institute of Technology)
2014 – Gregg Marshall (Wichita State)
2013 – John Thompson (Georgetown)
2012 – Horace Broadnax (Savannah State)

— Northwest Athletics —