AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Northwestern College baseball team (6-8, 0-0 GPAC) tallied 21 runs in the two victories down in Florida today, defeating Cornerstone (Mich.) 11-2 and Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) foe Hastings in the nightcap, 10-1.
"Roberts was really good today. He had command of all his pitches and was completely in control," said head coach
Brian Wede. "Offensively, we got big hits when we needed it as Dykstra picked up his first-career home run to set us up in the first inning."
GAME 1: Northwestern 11, Cornerstone 2
The bats came alive early in the first game of the day, as the Raiders tallied more RBIs (11) in the contest than hits (9). The pitching staff held the Cornerstone Golden Eagles (7-10, 0-0 WHAC) to just three hits on the day, recording six strike outs.
Kip Cullinan (Jr., Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) had a monster day at the plate, going 3-for-6 with six RBI, tallying a double and his second home run of the season.
Evan Olesen (So., Estherville, Iowa/Estherville Lincoln Central) notched two hits in his three at-bats, collecting two RBIs and scoring three runs.
Brad Tornow (So., Washington, Iowa/Mid-Prairie) picked up his first win of the season behind 4.2 innings pitched. He allowed two runs on two hits, walking four batters and striking out three.
Ryan Reynolds (Jr., Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville), Olesen, and
Shane Geurink (So., Norwalk, Iowa/Norwalk) combined for a one-hit 2.1 innings to shut the door on the Golden Eagles. Reynolds struck out the side in his sole inning pitched on the day.
GAME 2: Northwestern 10, Hastings 1
The bats stayed hot in the nightcap in a non-conference clash with GPAC-foe Hastings Broncos (2-9, 0-0 GPAC) as Northwestern tallied 13 hits in the contest. The first inning saw
Drew Dykstra (Fr., Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) hit his first collegiate home run to lead-off the game.
A big five-run second inning proved to be the difference, putting the Raiders firmly up 7-0 after two full innings of play. Cullinan continued his hot streak in the second game, going 2-for-3 with two hits, two runs, and collecting two more RBIs.
Eli Rash (So., Lake Lotawana, Mo./Summit Christian Academy) also went 2-for-3, collecting a game-high three RBIs.
Brady Roberts (Jr., Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) tossed a superb 5.0 innings, allowing just one hit and striking out 11 Bronco hitters, in his 19 batters faced – striking out 57.9% of the batters he faced in the outing.
Colton Korver (Fr., Alton, Iowa/MOC-Floyd Valley) struck out the side in the sixth inning, to keep the Broncos off the board.
Colton Schuchart (Fr., Jourdanton, Texas/Jourdanton) picked up two strike outs in his inning pitched, allowing one Bronco run.
Up Next: The Raiders have a single game tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. against the third Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) opponent of the trip south in the Warriors of Rochester University (3-3, 0-0 WHAC) in Winter Haven, Fla.
