The No. 16-ranked Northwest Missouri State softball team split a pair of conference contests with Lincoln Friday afternoon in Jefferson City, Mo.

The Bearcats used nine hits to topple the Blue Tigers in game one, 5-1, before falling 3-2 in the nightcap.

Northwest is now 22-8 overall and 6-4 in the MIAA, while Lincoln moves to 3-30 this season and 2-12 against conference opponents.

Torri Blythe had four hits and scored two runs on the day.

Kendle Schieber (12-3) struck out five batters and gave up just three hits in six innings of work to pick up the win in game one. The senior added an RBI single on offense.

The Bearcats will head to St. Charles, Mo. for an MIAA twin bill with Lindenwood Saturday, March 25 beginning at 11 a.m.

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team fell to Central Missouri, 16-6, on Thursday afternoon at Crane Stadium in Warrensburg, Mo.

Northwest falls to 13-11 overall and 8-6 in MIAA play. The Mules improved to 13-8 overall and 11-3 in conference action.

The Bearcats got hits from eight different players and drew four walks on the day.

The game was called in the bottom of the eight due to the MIAA run rule.

Garrett Fort was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.  Ozzie Adams went 2-for-4 with a run. He had a two RBI double in the first.  Nick Howard was 1-for-4 with a pair of RBI and one run.  Aaron Barratt was 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.  James Holler was 1-for-4 with an RBI and a double.  Nick Gotta, Kolby Greenslade and Derek Meyer each picked up a hit for Northwest. Meyer and Gotta each drew walks.

Joseph Hietpas started and went 6.0 innings. He allowed eight runs on 10 hits. Only five of the runs were earned. He walked two and struck out three.

With two down in the first, Adams doubled down the left field line and Lewis walked to bring up Howard. Howard responded with a double to left center, clearing the bases to put Northwest up, 2-0. Fort singled in Howard in the next at bat with a hit to right field to make it 3-0.

In the bottom of the second, UCM looked poised to take the lead after a leadoff single and a wild pitch put a runner on second with no outs. But Hietpas got a flyout to right and Barratt came up throwing, gunning down the runner trying to tag up and advance to third on the play. Hietpas got a first pitch flyout to center in the next at bat to end the Mules’ threat.

Barratt singled to lead off the seventh and went to second on a Gotta walk. Adams hit an infield single to load the bases with one out. Lewis grounded into a fielder’s choice as Adams was forced out at second. Gotta went to third and Barratt scored to make it 5-4 UCM.

Fort and Meyer led off the eighth with back-to-back singles. Handzlik came in to pinch run for Meyer. Holler hit an 0-1 pitch down the right field line for a double, driving in Fort. Barratt grounded out to third, scoring Handzlik from third.

The series continues with the Mules on Friday at 4 p.m. Game three is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday.

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State University men’s tennis team fell to Division I member Wichita State University, 5-0, on Tuesday afternoon in Wichita, Kan.

The Bearcats fall to 7-2 overall on the year and Wichita State improved to 13-8.

The match was played with Division I scoring rules with doubles counting as one point.

Match Results
1. #89 Tin Ostojic (WSU) def. Boissinot,Romain (NW) 7-6, 6-2
2. Miroslav Herzan (WSU) vs. Riveros,Alvaro (NW) 2-6, 6-2, 2-3, unfinished
3. Jocelyn Devilliers (WSU) def. Fontcuberta,Sergi (NW) 6-3, 6-3
4. Sergio de Vilchez (WSU) def. Tete,Mauro (NW) 6-1, 6-1
5. Eddie Stoica (WSU) def. Glowick,Fin (NW) 6-4, 6-4
6. Vitor Mendes (WSU) vs. Autones,Aymeric (NW) 7-5, 3-0, unfinished

1. #65 Jocelyn Devilliers/Tin Ostojic (WSU) def. Fontcuberta,Sergi/Riveros,Alvaro (NW) 6-2
2. #42 Miroslav Herzan/Haru Inoue (WSU) vs. Boissinot,Romain/Autones,Aymeric (NW) 4-3, unfinished
3. Sergio de Vilchez/Eddie Stoica (WSU) def. Tete,Mauro/Abaitua,Vazquez (NW) 6-2

Both men’s and women’s teams will be at home against Southeastern Oklahoma State on Friday, March 25, at 2 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State University Director of Athletics Mel Tjeerdsma has announced that Buck Scheel has been named head coach of the Bearcat women’s basketball team. The announcement comes after a nationwide search that included over 100 applicants. A formal press conference to introduce Scheel will be held on Tuesday, March 29, at 11:30 a.m. in the Tower View dining room in the J.W. Jones Student Union.

“During Buck’s two and a half months as interim head coach, it was very evident that he had the qualities that we were looking for in our head women’s basketball coach,” said Tjeerdsma. “I am excited about the culture that he has already begun to establish with our team. There’s no doubt that we have the right person to lead our women’s basketball program back to the top of the MIAA.”

Scheel was named interim head coach on Dec. 16, 2015, prior to a road contest against Lincoln University.

“I want to thank Mel Tjeerdsma, the Northwest administration team and the department of athletics for this opportunity,” Scheel said. “I felt we made some major strides in the second half of our season and I’m excited to get the chance to continue building off of the strong base that we worked hard to establish.

“I am convinced that with our resources at Northwest, there is no question we can build a championship caliber basketball team here. The MIAA is one of the toughest conferences in the nation and continually puts high-seeded teams in the NCAA Tournament. I believe that in order to establish a winning culture, you need to start with quality student-athletes, both in the classroom and on the court. I’m excited to be able to continue to represent Northwest Missouri State and I look forward to expanding my role both on campus and in the community.”

Scheel joined the Northwest staff prior to the start of the 2013-14 season as an assistant coach. He previously served as the assistant coach at State Fair Community College, where he helped lead a Lady Roadrunner team to a 68-28 record in three years. SFCC won a Region 16 championship in 2011 and advanced to the Region 16 tournament all three years.

Prior to SFCC, Scheel was the head women’s basketball coach at Southwestern Community College in Creston, Iowa, from 2007 to 2010. He coached multiple all-conference athletes both on the floor and in the classroom.

Scheel graduated from Waldorf University in Forest City, Iowa, where he was a co-captain for two years. He graduated with a degree in business management with an emphasis in marketing. Scheel also worked as a student assistant at Waldorf University following his graduation. He received a master’s degree in sports management from Columbia Southern University in Orange Beach, Ala. Scheel is a native of Columbus, Neb.

Scheel will fill out his staff in the coming weeks.

— Northwest Athletics —

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 —