Brady Roberts pitched a complete-game, five-hitter in leading Northwestern to a 4-2 win against Dakota Wesleyanin the second game of a conference doubleheader played this afternoon in Orange City. The Red Raiders lost game one 10-7 and are now 7-9 in the GPAC, 13-19 overall.
Roberts improved to 4-2 and won his second consecutive decision, striking out a career-best six DWU hitters in the full nine innings. The freshman walked one and allowed one double, and four singles.
Tied 1-1, Northwestern grabbed the lead for good with a run in the bottom of the fourth when
A.J. Nitzschke put down a successful squeeze bunt, scoring
Colton Harold for a 2-1 lead.
Austin Zylstra added a pair of RBI singles, in the fifth and seventh innings, giving Northwestern valuable insurance runs.
Roberts ran into trouble just once as DWU loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the seventh inning on a three singles and a hit-batsman, leading to a run. He forced Cole Gassman to fly out to shallow left and then got a 1-3 double play on a lineout hit by Kyle Bailey to avoid further damage.
Northwestern totaled eight hits, led by
Sutton Derr and Zylstra with two each.
Ben De Boer belted his first home run of the season, a solo shot to put NW up 1-0 in the third inning, and Harold, Fakkema and
Andrew Mescher all had one hit each.
Dominique Boerger (6-2) suffered his second loss, allowing eight hits and four runs in seven innings. J.T. Miller pitched a perfect eighth. Wes Anderson had three of the Tigers' four hits, going 3-for-4 with an RBI.
DWU sent 11 batters to the plate in a six-run fifth inning to break a 4-4 tie and earn a 10-7 game one win. Back-to-back home runs by
Austin Zylstra and Harold highlighted the Red Raiders three-run, third inning to come back from an early 4-1 deficit. A scoreless fourth inning followed but Tiger bats came alive in the fifth, recording seven hits off three difffent Northwestern pitchers for a 10-4 lead. Gassman hit a two-run single and four other DWU players recorded an RBI in the inning.
Northwestern responded with two runs in the sixth, all with two outs, when Mescher hit a two-run single down the left field line. Coach Wede's squad scored another run off a balk in the seventh and proceeded to load the bases and had the winning run at the plate only to have Gilberto Rodriguez strike out Zach Rosson to end it.
Alec Rickabaugh (3-3) took the loss, giving up nine hits and eight runs in 4.1 innings.
Sutton Derr pitched 2.2 innings of scoreless relief. Zylstra went 3-4 with three RBIs and Mescher had a career-best two hits and two RBIs.
Layne Stafford (1-3) earned the win in relief, pitching the middle 3.1 innings. Bailey (3-4), Drew DeMers (2-4) and Gassman (2-4) led the Tigers at the plate.
