The Red Raider baseball team swept Central Baptist in a doubleheader played today to earn a 2-2 split in the four-game set held in Chickasha, Okla. Northwestern won a slugfest in game one, 16-11, and came away with a 5-4 victory in the nightcap.
Game One: 16-11 win
Northwestern plated five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to break open a tie game in defeating the Mustangs 16-11 in game one.
Kip Cullinan was hit by pitch to start the NWC rally and his pinch runner,
Hunter Rynders, came around to score after a stolen base and single by
Drew Schutt.
Colton Harold followed with a double and both he and Schutt scored on a three-run home run by
Noa Vogel, his first of the year. Northwestern's final run was scored when
Sutton Derr drove in pinch runner
Alex Fuhs from second with a two-out single.
Brady Nicolet pitched a scoreless top of the seventh inning for his first career save, in relief of both
Brady Roberts and
Shane Geurink (1-0), who picked up his first career win as a Red Raider. Geurink pitched two scoreless innings, giving up two hits.
Head Coach
Brian Wede's squad continued to put up good numbers at the plate, totaling 15 hits, 16 runs and drawing three walks. Vogel led the way with three hits and four RBIs; five Red Raiders had two hits each;
Evan Olesen, Cullinan, Schutt, Harold and Zach Rosson. Both Schutt and Harold drove in three runs.
Both teams scored three in the first; Northwestern seemingly blew the game open with a six run second inning to grab a 9-3 advantage.
Jaden Snyder hit an RBI single,
Evan Olesen hit a two-run double and Schutt and Vogel contributed RBI doubles.
Central Baptist came back with two runs in the third but Northwestern responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning. The Mustangs rallied with four in the fourth and two more in the fifth, chasing Red Raider starter
Brady Roberts, to tie the game at 11.
The Mustangs totaled 12 hits, four home runs, one each by Jay French, Griffith Olinde, Jared Jones and Alex Flores. Olinde and Jones both drove in four runs.
Game Two: 5-4 win
Evan Olesen pitched into the sixth inning and
Ryan Reynolds earned his first collegiate save in leading Northwestern to a 5-4 win in game two.
Olesen (1-0) limited the potent Mustangs line-up to just three hits, four runs, in 5.1 innings. The sophomore walked three, struck out one and was lifted with a runner at first and one out in the top of the sixth.
Luke Hughes finished the inning, striking out pinch hitter Brett Sweatman with the bases loaded, to avoid further damage. Reynolds came on to pitch a perfect seventh inning, striking out Willie Baez to end it.
Northwestern had nine hits in game two, led by
Sutton Derr, who went 3-for-4 with a run scored from the leadoff spot. Schutt went 2-for-3 with two doubles, including an RBI double in the Red Raiders three-run fifth. Cullinan, Harold, Vogel and Snyder had the other hits for Coach Wede's club.
Olinde went 2-for-3, hitting a two-run home run in the sixth, to lead the Mustangs' offense.
