Northwest Missouri defeated Emporia State 11-5 in a Friday afternoon home opener at Trusler Sports Complex.
Both teams started off scoreless in the initial inning. After junior pitcher Seth Stover pitched a scoreless second inning, the Hornets struck first in the bottom half. Senior outfielder/infielder Noah Steele singled to center, stole second and later scored on a double by sophomore infielder Brady Unrein that ricocheted off the centerfield wall for an RBI.
Stover continued to keep the Bearcats off the scoreboard as ESU built a 5-0 lead by the fifth inning. Junior infielder Frankie Santiago and Steele set the Hornets up well as Unrein hit his second home run of the season to secure a run.
Northwest Missouri showed a promising fifth, but Stover assisted the Hornets with a strikeout to end the inning. The Bearcats answered with a significant sixth inning, scoring five runs on a combination of hits and walks to tie the score 5-5.
The Hornets had an opportunity to respond in the bottom half, but failed as the Bearcats added six more runs in the final three innings. The Hornets were unable to recover in the ninth inning as the Bearcats pulled away for an 11-5 victory.
In the following game on Saturday, Feb. 28, Emporia State baseball split a doubleheader with Northwest Missouri, taking the first game 5-0 before dropping the finale 4-3.
In game one, sophomore pitcher Colby Deaver held the Bearcats hitless through multiple innings and struck out their first batter.
ESU got on the board in the second when redshirt junior catcher Dylan Brisbois hit a two-run homer, followed by solo homers from senior outfielder Cooper Schwindt in the fourth and seventh, increasing the lead to 5-0.
Senior pitcher Grant Huffman replayed Deaver to close out the ninth as pitcher and secured a win for the Hornets. In the series finale that followed, Northwest Missouri would rally back to overtake ESU 4-3.
Freshman pitcher Quinton Chindamo threw six innings for the Hornets and kept the first inning scoreless for the Bearcats to bring ESU an early 1-0 lead off a home run by Santiago.
The Bearcats responded in the second with three runs off defensive errors and hits. Unrein’s sacrifice fly in the fourth cut the deficit to 3-2, but the Hornets failed to score again until the ninth, when they put runners on base but were unable to bring in a run to tie the game. Northwest Missouri added a run in the ninth to confirm their win in game two.
The Hornets play at home again next weekend as hosts to Pittsburg State. First pitch for game one of the series is scheduled for Friday, March 6 at 3:00 p.m. at Trusler Sports Complex.
