ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The Northwestern College baseball team (12-14, 4-6 GPAC) opened the month of April with a split against the Chargers of Briar Cliff (17-9, 7-3 GPAC). Brady Roberts picked up his second win of the year in Game 1 with a solid 6.0 innings, scattering just five Charger hits.

GAME 1: Northwestern 4, Briar Cliff 2
 
Pitching Decisions
Win: Brady Roberts (2-3)
Loss: Jacob Wesselman (2-3)
Save: Colton Schuchart (3)

BASE | Raiders take Game 1 from Briar Cliff behind six strong innings from Brady Roberts!#RaidersStandOut | @NWC_Baseball pic.twitter.com/tr8B9ByqTZ

— NWC Red Raiders (@nwcraiders) April 1, 2022

 
How It Happened
Briar Cliff got to starter Brady Roberts (Jr., Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) with two runs in the top of the first, but Roberts would buckle down and stymie the Charger offense the rest of the way.
 
The Raiders responded with two runs of their own in the bottom half. Eli Rash (So., Lake Lotawana, Mo./Summit Christian Academy) started the scoring with an RBI single, followed by a Mo Watson (So., Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny) single. The game was tied at 2-2 after one.
 
Northwestern would notch two more runs in the second off the Charger ace Jacob Wesselman. What proved to be the game-winning run, giving NWC the 3-2 lead, was a wild pitch from Wesselman that plated Jaden Snyder (Jr., Larchwood, Iowa/West Lyon). Kip Cullinan (Jr., Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) would drive in Dykstra on an RBI single to give the Raiders an insurance run, making it 4-2 NWC.
 
The rest was history as Roberts sat down the next 12 of 14 Charger hitters, scattering just a single and a double. In the sixth inning, he worked around a lead-off double from Jake Allen, but back-to-back strike outs and a 4-3 ground out kept the score 4-2.
 
Game Notes

• Seven different Raiders recorded a hit in Game 1, none had a multi-hit game
• Sam Stanford continues to swing a hot bat, extending his hit streak to eight games.
• Brady Roberts earned Scooter's Player of the Game honors for his performance on the bump – he went 6.0 innings, allowed five hits and struck out seven Chargers.
• Roberts notched his third win of the season (2-3), while making his sixth start of the year.
• In three of his six innings, the junior right-hander sent the Chargers down in order.
• After picking up his first-career win in his last outing last week, Colton Schuchart returns to his closer role and picks up his third save of the season.
• Schuchart struck out the side in the seventh, allowing just one base runner via a walk.

GAME 2: Briar Cliff 4, Northwestern 3
 
Pitching Decisions
Win: Dalen Blair (3-3)
Loss: Brad Tornow (1-1)
Save: Brett Sitzmann (1)
 
How It Happened
The two teams were silent in the first two frames before Briar Cliff put up a run in both the 3^rd and 4^th innings, to take the 2-0 lead. The would tack one more on in the 6^th inning to make their lead 3-0.
 
Northwestern would respond with three runs to tie the game in the home half of the seventh inning. Watson would drive in the first Raider run with an RBI single through the left side, just under the glove of the diving Charger third baseman.
 
Colby Shelton (Fr., Urbandale, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) would belt a ball deep into the left centerfield gap to score Mason Porepp (So., Pleasant Hill, Iowa/Southeast Polk) and Tanner Schouten (Fr., Orange City, Iowa/MOC-Floyd Valley), as the Raiders knot the game up at 3-3 in the seventh.
 
Briar Cliff would score what would end up being the game-winning run on a bases loaded walk in the top of the eighth, as the Raiders would fall 4-3 in the nightcap.
 
Game Notes

• Mo Watson notched his second multi-hit game of the season, has three-straight games with a hit.
• On the day, Watson notches two RBIs – bringing his season total to six in the 16 games he's played in.
• Sam Stanford continues his hitting streak, increases up to nine games.
• Colby Shelton's two RBI double brings his RBI total up two eight, earning him Scooter's Player of the Game honors.
• Dylan Kirkeby got the nod in Game 2 – his eighth start of the year – allowing just three hits, striking out six in his 5.1 innings.
• Brad Tornow made his seventh appearance on the season in Game 2.
• Ryan Reynolds made his 10^th appearance out of the pen tonight, throwing 1.1 innings and striking out two.
• As a team, it marks back-to-back games the Raiders played flawless defense, recording zero errors on the day.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach, Brian Wede:
"Brady (Roberts) was a little shaky in the first but then settled down and really did a nice job getting through their order. He really dominated the last five innings."
 
STAT OF THE GAME                                                                                               
7 – Seven different Raiders notch hits in Game 1, as the Raiders notched seven hits in both games.

SCOOTER'S PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Game 1: Brady Roberts

BASE | With his performance on the mound in Game 1, 𝘽𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙍𝙤𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙨 is the @scooterscoffee 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙖𝙢𝙚!#RaidersStandOut | @NWC_Baseball pic.twitter.com/TBtUiEn5CV

— NWC Red Raiders (@nwcraiders) April 1, 2022

Game 2: Colby Shelton

BASE | Despite the loss, Colby Shelton's 2-out, game-tying 2 RBI double to deep left center garners @scooterscoffee 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙖𝙢𝙚 honors!#RaidersStandOut | @NWC_Baseball pic.twitter.com/uSOLbSvZ8J

— NWC Red Raiders (@nwcraiders) April 2, 2022

Up Next: Northwestern returns to the diamond tomorrow for another Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) doubleheader with first-place Doane (21-5, 10-0 GPAC). First pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m. at the Baseball Diamond in Orange City.