The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team fell at Nebraska-Kearney, 16-5, on Tuesday afternoon at Memorial Field in Kearney, Neb.

The Bearcats are now 13-10 overall and 8-5 in MIAA play. The Lopers improved to 12-10 and 9-4 in conference action.

The game was called in the seventh inning with the MIAA run rule.

The Bearcats scored five runs on seven hits but committed four errors. Northwest got one in the second, two in the third and two in the fourth.

Nebraska-Kearney scored one in the second, three in the fourth, one in the fifth, three in the sixth and eight in the seventh. The Lopers had 13 hits and four errors.

Hondo Pearcy started the game for Northwest, going 3.2 innings. He allowed four runs but only one was earned. He struck out five batters.

Derek Meyer was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.  Kolby Greenslade went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. He also stole a base for Northwest.  Ozzie Adams was 1-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and a stolen base.

With two outs in the second inning, Fort reached on an error by the second baseman and promptly stole second base. With a 2-1 count, Meyer drove a ball to deep right center for a double to score Fort, putting Northwest up, 1-0.

Greenslade led off the third with a single to center that was misplayed allowing him to go to second. Adams walked a batter later. With one out, Adams seemingly got caught in a rundown between first and second but on the play, Fort was able to advance home on an error by the catcher. Lewis singled to right, scoring Adams from second to make it 3-1 Bearcats.

With two outs in the fourth, Meyer singled to center. Barratt came up next and also singled to center and again Northwest took advantage of an error by the Lopers, scoring Meyer all the way from first and Barratt took thrid base. Greenslade hit an infield single in the the next at bat, scoring Greenslade from third.

The Bearcats will head to Warrensburg, Mo., to take on Central Missouri starting on Thursday, March 24, at 4 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State University men’s tennis team beat Newman University, 7-2, on Tuesday while the women’s team fell to the Jets, 7-2, in Wichita, Kan.

The men’s team moves to 7-1 overall with the win while No. 35 Newman is 5-8.  The Bearcat women are now 5-5 overall and the Jets improved to 11-3.

Match Results
Men’s Scores
1. Boissinot,Romain (NW) def. Santos,Eduardo (NU) 6-3, 6-3
2. Riveros,Alvaro (NW) def. Gonzalez,Alejandro (NU) 6-2, 6-2
3. Ebinal,Andre (NU) def. Fontcuberta,Sergi (NW) 7-6, 6-7, 10-6
4. Tete,Mauro (NW) def. Pyle,Max (NU) 6-3, 6-3
5. Glowick,Fin (NW) def. Fernandez,Diego (NU) 6-2, 6-3
6. Autones,Aymeric (NW) def. Coiras,Jose (NU) 8-2

1. Santos,Eduardo/Gonzalez,Alejandro (NU) def. Riveros,Alvaro/Fontcuberta,Sergi (NW) 8-5
2. Boissinot,Romain/Autones,Aymeric (NW) def. Pyle,Max/Coiras,Jose (NU) 8-6
3. Abaitua,Vazquez/Tete,Mauro (NW) def. Fernandez,Diego/Ebinal,Andre (NU) 8-5

Women’s Scores
1. Bugayenko,Kate (NU) def. Jarolim,Lorena Rivas (NW) 6-4, 6-0
2. Emersic,Kaja (NW) def. Brill,Venessa (NU) 6-3, 6-0
3. Stoianova,Kateryna (NU) def. Jacquet,Margaux (NW) 6-3, 6-2
4. Tskhakaia,Tamar (NU) def. Gallardo,Andrea (NW) 6-1, 6-2
5. Raga,Ariana (NU) def. Berghaus,Marie (NW) 6-0, 6-0
6. Sestokaite,Vilune (NW) def. Lemmens,Marit (NU) 8-4

Doubles competition
1. Brill,Venessa/Raga,Ariana (NU) def. Sestokaite,Vilune/Jarolim,Lorena Rivas (NW) 8-6
2. Bugayenko,Kate/Stoianova,Kateryna (NU) def. Kolen,Aniek/Jacquet,Margaux (NW) 8-5
3. Tskhakaia,Tamar/Wise,Emily (NU) def. Emersic,Kaja/Gallardo,Andrea (NW) 8-5

The Bearcat men will stay in Wichita to take on Wichita State on Wednesday, starting at 1 p.m. Both teams will be at home against Southeastern Oklahoma State on Friday, March 25, at 2 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —

EDINBORO, Pa. – Northwest Missouri State University sophomore Justin Pitts earned All-America honorable mention honors from the Division II Conference Commissioners Association on Monday.

Pitts, the 2015-16 MIAA Player of the Year, completed a historic season for the Bearcats, setting single-season records for points scored (693) and field goals made (253).

Now a two-time first-team All-MIAA performer, Pitts scored in double figures in all 32 games played this season and eclipsed 20 points 21 times, including a career-high 38 points against Minnesota State in the Central Region semifinals, third-most in school history (3/13/16). He reached 1,000 career points in just 53 games.

The sophomore was named Central Region tournament Most Outstanding Player after scoring 88 points on 35-of-51 shooting across three games. Through two seasons at Northwest, Pitts is the all-time leader in three point field goal percentage, drilling 49.4 percent of his shots from behind the arc (131-for-265).

The Blue Springs, Mo. native led the Bearcats in scoring (21.7), three point percentage (49.4), assists (5.0) and steals (1.5), helping Northwest to an MIAA-record 19 conference victories, an outright MIAA regular season title, an MIAA tournament title and a third-straight trip to the Central Region Championship game.

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State University men’s and women’s tennis teams won a pair of matches against East Central University in Ada. Okla., on Monday.

The Bearcat men won, 7-2, while the women won, 5-4. The women clinched the match with an Andrea Gallardo win at No. 5 singles with the match at 4-3.

The men’s team moves to 6-1 overall while No. 45 ECU falls to 6-7.  The Bearcat women are now 5-4 overall after knocking off East Central which falls to 6-9.

Match Results
Men’s Scores
1. Boissinot,Romain (NW) def. Espias,Sergio (ECU) 7-5, 6-3
2. Riveros,Alvaro (NW) def. Abella,Adria (ECU) 6-2, 6-3
3. Fontcuberta,Sergi (NW) def. Fillat,Alex (ECU) 6-2, 6-3
4. Tete,Mauro (NW) def. Eldagsen,Erik (ECU) 7-5, 6-2
5. Lerch,Marc (ECU) def. Glowick,Fin (NW) 4-6, 6-1, 10-7
6. Autones,Aymeric (NW) def. Schodlbauer,Stefan (ECU) 6-0, 6-1

1. Riveros,Alvaro/Fontcuberta,Sergi (NW) def. Fillat,Alex/Lapiedra,Albert (ECU) 8-6
2. Boissinot,Romain/Autones,Aymeric (NW) def. Eldagsen,Erik/Abella,Adria (ECU) 8-4
3. Schodlbauer,Stefan/Espias,Sergio (ECU) def. Tete,Mauro/Altmann,Josef (NW) 8-6

Women’s Scores
1. Municoy,Julia (ECU) def. Jarolim,Lorena Rivas (NW) 6-4, 6-3
2. Emersic,Kaja (NW) def. Garcia,Anna (ECU) 6-1, 7-5
3. Makashov,Alex (ECU) def. Kolen,Aniek (NW) 3-0, 99-0
4. Jacquet,Margaux (NW) def. Mayorga,Gloria (ECU) 6-3, 6-4
5. Gallardo,Andrea (NW) def. Richison,Becca (ECU) 7-5, 6-2
6. Mijares,Veronica (ECU) def. Sestokaite,Vilune (NW) 4-6, 6-0, 10-7

1. Jarolim,Lorena Rivas/Sestokaite,Vilune (NW) def. Makashov,Alex/Municoy,Julia (ECU) 8-5
2. Garcia,Anna/Mayorga,Gloria (ECU) def. Kolen,Aniek/Jacquet,Margaux (NW) 8-5
3. Emersic,Kaja/Gallardo,Andrea (NW) def. Richison,Becca/Mijares,Veronica (ECU) 8-2

The Bearcat men’s and women’s teams will head to Wichita, Kan. to take on Newman University on Tuesday starting at noon.

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team swept a three-game MIAA series against Lincoln with a 15-6 victory on Sunday at Bearcat Field.

The Bearcats move to 13-9 overall and 8-4 in MIAA play. The Blue Tigers are now 1-21 on the year and 0-12 in conference action.

Northwest scored in all eight innings, collecting 13 hits with no errors.  Nine different players scored runs for the Bearcats, eight different players collected hits and five collected at least one RBI.

This was the first three-game sweep of the season. It was the sixth time the Beacats have scored 10+ runs, the first time in back-to-back games.  Northwest’s bullpen worked 4.2 innings of scoreless relief, allowing just three base hits from the fifth inning on.

The Bearcats got three in the sixth and eight innings, two in the first, second and seventh innings and single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings.

Lincoln scored four in the third, one in the fourth and one in the fifth. The Blue tigers had 11 hits and eight errors, leading to eight unearned runs.

Nick Gotta went 3-for-6 with four RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base. He hit his second home run of the year in the seventh inning.

Kolby Greenslade was 3-for-4 with two runs scored, an RBI, a walk and a stolen base.

Kevin Handzlik was 2-for-4 with a run scored, a walk and three stolen bases.

Derek Meyer was 2-for-5, crossing the plate twice.

Ozzie Adams was 1-for-3 with three runs scored, two walk, a stolen base and an RBI.

Jay Hrdlicka went 1-for-5 with a double, two RBI, a run scored and a sacrifice fly.

Austin Wulff, who entered the game in the third inning, was 1-for-4 with a run scored.

Nikko Pablo picked up his first win of the year, going 1.2 innings of scoreless relief. He had two strikeouts.

Bryce Shea worked two innings of relief. He struck out four batters, allowing just one hit and one walk.

Carson Smith, who appeared in a non-save situation, needed just 15 pitches to record the final three outs, two coming by way of the strikeout.

The Bearcats will head to Kearney, Neb., to take on the Lopers on Tuesday, March 22, at 3 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State softball team came up on either side of a pair of one-run contests Sunday in St. Joseph, Mo.

The games were played at the Heritage Park Softball Complex as a part of the MWSU Apple Market Classic. 16 teams are participating in the midseason crossover, eight apiece from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

The Bearcats were on the losing end of a pitcher’s duel to open the day, falling to Augustana 1-0.

Northwest used a three-run fifth inning to sneak past Minnesota State in the nightcap, 4-3.

Northwest Missouri State will return to conference play when they hit the road to take on Lincoln on Friday, March 25. First pitch in the twin bill is set for 1 p.m. in Jefferson City, Mo.

— Northwest Athletics —

By David Boyce, Northwest Athletics

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Northwest Missouri State’s valiant comeback effort from being seven points down with 2 minutes left fell just short Tuesday evening in the Central Regional championship game at the Sanford Pentagon.

With 4.6 seconds left, sophomore Jordan Spencer made two free throws, lifting Augustana to an 80-78 win in front of 3,221 screaming fans. The game ended with the Vikings tipping away a pass near midcourt.

But the Bearcats definitely put a scare into Augustana. Trailing 73-67 with 2 minutes left, Northwest battled back and tied the game at 78-78 on a basket by sophomore Justin Pitts with 25 seconds left.

“Our kids are tough,” said Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “They are down seven in that atmosphere and they don’t panic.”

Augustana called timeout after Pitts’ basket. Spencer dribbled the ball until 10 seconds remained and then he drove to the basket. Junior Zach Schneider blocked the layup attempt but was whistled for a foul. Spencer made the clutch free throws.

“It was a great college basketball game,” said Augustana coach Tom Billeter. “I was saying all day to anybody who cared to listen that it was going to come down to the last possession and it did. I thought both teams played a hard-fought college basketball game. I think the fans got their money’s worth.

“I tip my hat to Ben McCollum and his staff and the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats. I thought they played a great game. They have a great player in Justin Pitts, and they have a great team.”

The loss snapped Northwest’s 17-game winning streak. The Bearcats finished the season 27-6. Augustana, 31-2, will carry a 12-game winning streak into the Elite Eight, which will be March 23-26 in Frisco, Texas.

“We would like to congratulate Augustana,” McCollum said. “They played a good game. They are a tough, physical team. They earned the right to get there.

“I couldn’t be prouder of my kids. To comeback from where they were at, down seven or eight with 3 ½ minutes to go, I said in the huddle, ‘Do you want to start trapping or scramble a little bit.’ Not one of them wanted to. Let’s just get the stop coach and they did and fought back and kept fighting and fighting.

“Conner Crooker was on a mission and Justin Pitts is probably the best player in Division II.”

Pitts, the Central Region Most Outstanding Player, finished with 34 points and Crooker, who joined Pitts on the All-Tournament team, added 19.

“We knew they were going to key on Justin a lot so I had to be ready,” Crooker said. “I was confident in my drives. My teammates tell me to be confident, too.”

The start of the second half looked like it was going to mirror the first half, which was filled with ties and lead changes. Northwest started the second half down by one and gave up the first point. A three-pointer by Pitts put Northwest ahead 40-39.

Augustana went back ahead and Northwest came right back on a basket by Crooker that gave the Bearcats a 43-42 lead.

The Vikings then scored the next eight points for a 50-43 lead. Northwest scored the next five points, but the Vikings responded with a three-pointer from senior Casey Schilling.

“I thought it hurt a little bit,” McCollum said. “I am not sure what happened. We had a few turnovers and then they got run outs. They made us pay a couple of times.”

The rest of the second half, each time it appeared Northwest was about to catch and overtake Augustana, the Vikings came up with a clutch shot.

“It was huge,” Schilling said of keeping the lead. “We really go on the first 5 minutes. That is our big deal. We want to push this lead and go get it. Every time they threw a punch, we hit them right back. We had a bunch of guys who kept coming and were ready when it was their turn.”

But the Bearcats never quit. When they trailed 73-67 with 2 minutes remaining, Northwest fought back. A three-point play by Pitts with a minute left pulled Northwest to within two at 78-76.

“I looked at coach Mac and he said get the ball and go and try to get a foul or score,” Pitts said. “I was trying to attack.”

The only thing that separated the two teams in the first half was Augustana made two more three-pointers and that allowed the Vikings to take a slim 38-37 lead into halftime.

A three-pointer by freshman John Warren late in the first half gave Augustana the one-point lead.

Throughout the first half, the action went back and forth without either team grabbing hold of the momentum. The biggest lead was five points. It came at the start of the game with Chris-Ebou Ndow scoring a layup for Northwest and he followed that with a three-pointer, give the Bearcats a 5-0 lead.

Augustana responded with a three-pointer from senior Alex Richter. Northwest maintained the lead until Augustana went up 14-12 on a basket by Warren. It was the first of nine lead changes in the first half. There were also eight ties. The biggest lead Augustana had in the first half was two points.

Once again, Pitts played at a MVP caliber in the first half, scoring 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Augustana countered with Schilling, who scored 13 points, going 5-for-6 from the field.  For the half, Northwest shot 59 percent compared to 48 percent for Augustana.

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team fell to Quincy University, 14-3, on Tuesday afternoon at QU Stadium in Quincy, Ill.

The Bearcats fall to 10-9 on the year while Quincy improved to 10-3.

The Bearcats got three runs on 11 hits but committed three errors. The Hawks had 14 runs on 15 hits with two errors.

Ozzie Adams was 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored.

Jay Hrdlicka was also 2-for-5 with a run scored.

Garrett Fort went 2-for-5 with a double. He stole his seventh base of the year in the fifth inning.

Kevin Handzlik was 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Kolby Greenslade went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base.

Jake Lewis, Austin Wulff and James Holler all picked up hits for Northwest.

Nick Gotta and Nikko Pablo each drew walks in the game.

The Bearcats used five pitchers on the day. Jacob Wagner worked a perfect seventh inning on the hill, recording a strikeout.

Greenslade hit a leadoff single to right and stole second base to start the second inning. Fort doubled to move Greenslade up to third with no outs. Adams singled through the right side to score Greenslade but Fort was tagged out at third. Gotta reached on a fielder’s choice but Adams was safe on a throwing error by the short stop. After a foul out, Handzlik came up with a big RBI single down the left field line to score Adams to give Northwest a 2-1 lead.

Hrdlicka singled to lead off the eighth after a lightning delay. Wulff followed it with a single to right allowing Hrdlicka to move from first to third. After a strikeout, Barratt hit into a fielder’s choice that allowed Hrdlicka to score.

Northwest resumes MIAA play on Friday, March 18, against Lincoln University at Bearcat Field at 3 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —

MINOT, N.D. – Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball sophomore Justin Pitts has been named to the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (CCA) All-Central Region first team. Pitts is now eligible for CCA All-America honors which will be voted upon this month.

In just 53 career games, Pitts surpassed the 1,000 point plateau. This year, he has scored in double figures in all 31 games he has appeared in while leading Northwest to the 2015-16 MIAA regular season and tournament titles. He was named the MIAA’s Player of the Year and earned first team All-MIAA honors for the second time. He leads the Bearcats in points (21.3), assists (5.1), steals (1.5) and three point field goal percentage (48.7 percent). He scored a career-high 38 points in Sunday’s NCAA second round victory over Minnesota State.

Augustana’s Daniel Jansen was named the Central Region Player of the Year. Teammate Casey Schilling joined Jansen on the first team along with Taevaunn Prince of Missouri Southern and Connor Beranek of Nebraska-Kearney.

— Northwest Athletics —