EDMOND, Oklahoma – The University of Central Oklahoma baseball team completed a three-game sweep of the Northwest Missouri State University baseball team on Saturday, 7-0.

Senior pitcher Gabe Littlejim got the start on the mound for the Bronchos and held Northwest (6-10, 2-3 MIAA) to two hits in six innings of work. Littlejim struck out eight and did not walk a batter.

UCO broke through with single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings to take a 3-0 lead. The Bronchos would add a four-spot in the sixth to up their margin to 7-0.

Sophomore righty Max Spitzmiller started the contest on the bump for the Bearcats and pitched five and 2/3 innings giving up six runs (four earned) on six hits. Spitzmiller struck out six on the day.

The final Brochos run came off senior pitcher Jarret Cronin and was not earned. Freshman Gibson Brown and Thomas Henrichs also made scoreless appearances in the contest.

Northwest bats just couldn’t get hot in this MIAA matchup with the Bronchos, recording only nine hits total during the three-game set.

NOTES: Senior infielder Logan Rycraft extends his team-best reached base streak to seven games … Gibson lowered his team-best earned run average to 1.72 through 15 2/3 innings pitched … Derek Hussey and Alixon Herrera share the team lead with 21 hits on the season … Connor Quick has a team-best .357 batting average with 20 hits on the year.

— Northwest Athletics —

EDMOND, Oklahoma – The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team saw its bats stymied by the University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos in a doubleheader on Friday.

UCO took the opening contest in seven innings, 10-0. The Bronchos finished the sweep of the Bearcats with a 3-1 triumph in the nightcap.

Game 1
The Bronchos (8-5, 2-3 MIAA) opened with one run in the first, two in the second and one more in the third to jump out to a quick 4-0 lead over Northwest (6-9, 2-2 MIAA).

Junior pitcher Dylan Hall went the distance on the mount for Central Oklahoma, holding the Bearcats to three hits and securing nine strikeouts.

Sophomore infielder Peter Carlson, junior infielder Calvin Rudolph and senior infielder Logan Rycraft notched the three base hits for the Bearcats.

Junior pitcher Quintin Van Ackeren got the start on the mound for Northwest, going five and a third innings, giving up five hits and five runs (three earned) while striking out five.

Other pitchers to see the mound in game one for Northwest included freshman Jacob Gill, junior Tristan Ledger and senior Jarret Cronin.

Central Oklahoma added one more in the six and five in the seventh to bring their lead up to 10 runs over Northwest in just seven innings of play.

Game 2
The winning momentum of the Bronchos from game one, carried over into game two against Northwest as UCO scored a 3-1 win to sweep the doubleheader.

Central Oklahoma notched runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings to take a 3-0 lead over the Bearcats.

The Northwest bats just couldn’t get hot in this MIAA matchup with the Bronchos, recording only four hits in the second game.

Northwest’s lone run came in the ninth inning after senior catcher Alixon Herrera hit a one-out double to right center. Herrera was advanced to third on a single from senior catcher Jay Hrdlicka. Carlson stepped into the box and reached base on a fielder’s choice, scoring Herrera. Hrdlicka was out on the play. Rudolph stepped in next, grounding out to end the game.

Junior pitcher Joe Funkhouser got the start for Northwest, pitching six and a 2/3 innings and giving up three earned runs while recording three strikeouts. Freshman Gibson Brown came in to relieve Funkhouser, pitching the final three and a third. Brown did not allow a hit and walked one with three strikeouts.

NOTES: Connor Quick has reached base in 14 straight games … Quick leads the team with a .377 batting average … Peter Carlson owns a team-best five-game hit streak … Brown owns a sparkling 2.03 ERA in seven appearances this season … Brown has struck out 10 in 13 1/3 innings pitched, while allowing three earned runs.

— Northwest Athletics —

JOPLIN, Missouri – The Northwest Missouri State softball team came back from an earlier defeat in the day and scored a triumph over Rockhurst.

Cameron scored a 9-3 win over Northwest to begin the day for the Bearcats.

Northwest finished the day’s action with a 13-4 victory over Rockhurst.

Game One vs. Cameron
Northwest started game one strong in the first inning with a two-run home run from Kaitlyn Weis to put the Bearcats up, 2-0.

Cameron answered with runs in the third and fourth innings to go up 3-2 on the Bearcats.

In the bottom of the fifth, Erin Keeney hit a triple to center field to tie the game at 3-3.

Cameron rallied in the sixth scoring six runs to defeat the Bearcats, 9-3.

Game Two vs. Rockhurst
Northwest also started game two strong with Kiana Baderdeen blasting a three-run homer in the first. Olivia Daugherty followed with a homer of her own to put the Bearcats up 4-0 early.

In the second inning, the Bearcats scored a pair on a two-out RBI single from Keeney.

The Bearcats scored six in the third inning with Jaedra Moses hitting a double to center field to drive in two runs. Weis tallied an RBI single. Then Keeney homered bringing in three runs to put the Bearcats up, 12-0.

Rockhurst answered in the bottom of the third with a two-run homer from Emily Truitt to cut the lead 12-2.

Grace Ruehle homered to left field in the top of the fourth to advance the score to 13-2.

Rockhurst answered in the bottom of the fourth with two runs, but Northwest was able to secure the 13-4 victory in five innings.

Regan Thompson went the distance and struck out six while allowing four earned runs. Thompson moved to 2-1 on the season.

NOTES: Weis leads the squad with 11 RBI, four home runs and an average of .480 … Moses has a .429 average with three RBI … Baderdeen is batting .321 with seven RBI and a home run … Thompson has a 2.51 earned run average.

— Northwest Athletics —

TOPEKA, Kansas – The No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team closed out the first 19-0 MIAA mark in the history of the league with a 72-49 road win at Lee Arena over the Washburn Ichabods.

Northwest led by nine at the break, 35-26. The Bearcats then sprinted away in the second half on the strength of a 24-4 run. The Bearcats turned a 46-37 advantage into a 70-41 lead with 3:36 left in the game. The Bearcats locked in defensively and limited the Ichabods to 28.6 percent shooting from the field. Washburn shot 6-of-26 from the field in the second half (23.1 percent).

The Bearcats thrived at the line Thursday by draining 18-of-23 free throws. Senior Joey Witthus was 9-of-10 at the line. Northwest connected on 10 three-pointers, including four from junior Ryan Welty.

Witthus led all scorers with 19 points. Junior Ryan Hawkins secured 18 points and nine rebounds. Freshman Diego Bernard ripped down a team-best 10 rebounds – his second straight double-figure rebounding game.

Northwest will be the No. 1 seed at the MIAA Tournament set for March 6-10 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City. Northwest will play its first game of the tournament on Thurs., March 7 against the winner of the No. 8 vs. No. 9 game at noon. The complete 2019 MIAA Tournament bracket will be announced Saturday night at the conclusion of league play.

NOTES: Northwest equaled the MIAA record for wins in a season (19) with Missouri Southern (2010-11) and Northwest (2015-16) … Northwest extended the nation’s longest win streak to 29 in a row … the Bearcats also lengthened the nation’s longest active road win streak to 15 straight … the Bearcats are the nation’s only undefeated team at 29-0 … Northwest has won 21 consecutive MIAA games dating back to last season … over the last three seasons, Northwest has compiled a record of 90-5 (.947 winning percentage) … Northwest is 81-7 over its last 88 MIAA contests, which dates back to the 2014-15 season.

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team broke a series of losing streaks Thursday with their defeat of the Washburn Ichabods 72-70. They broke their 10-game losing streak this season, the Bearcats broke their 12-game losing streak against the Ichabods, and they won at Washburn for the first time since 1985.

Northwest surged to an early lead, winning the first quarter 16-4. They led by 17, 29-12, with 5:09 left in the second quarter. Northwest let the Ichabods back into the game but shot lights out from the free throw line (11-12), as they’ve done all year, to the tune of a new Northwest record of 80.9% on the year, to seal the game late. The Bearcats were led by Mallory McConkey who had 23 points on 8-10 shooting. Kendey Eaton had 20, Kylie Coleman had 12 and Erika Schlosser had 11. Eaton went 2-2 from the free-throw line to get her to a new individual season record of 93.5%. Northwest won the turnover battle 9-16. Northwest shot 50% from the field and made 11-25 three-pointers.

The Ichabods were led in scoring by Taylor Blue with 20, followed by Shelbie Piggie with 13, Hunter Bentley with 12, and Alexis Mcafee with 10. Bentley also had a game high 14 rebounds to give herself a double-double. The Ichabods outrebounded the Bearcats 33-15. They shot 55.6% from the field but only went 4-17 from behind the arc.

Northwest ends the season 8-20, 4-15 in MIAA play.

— Northwest Athletics —