Jace Anderson to pitch for the 2013 St. Joseph Mustangs

Jace Anderson, right-handed pitcher for the Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats baseball team, signed a 10-day contract to play for the 2013 St. Joseph Mustangs of the MINK League.  Jace Anderson got injured early in 2013 and only had two appearances during the NCAA season.  In total, Jace worked  5.0 innings, allowed 3 hits (2 doubles and a home run), 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 5 strike-outs, 1 wild pitch, and hit 4 batters.

Good luck to Jace Anderson this summer.  We hope you have a successful summer.

Go Cats!!
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Memorial Day Rememberance

In respectful observance to all the soliders of the US Military, present, past, and future, we remember and thank you for your sacrifices.  We will never forget.  God bless you all.

Go USA!!
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Eric Swain to play for St. Joseph Mustangs in 2013

Eric Swain, 3B, will play for the St. Joseph Mustangs in 2013 according to the team's website.  The Mustangs baseball club is a member of the M.I.N.K. League and have won the league title in each of the past 2 seasons.  Eric had a terrific NCAA season in 2013 having appeared in 43 of 49 games.  Eric batted .280 for the season, had 157 official plate appearances, scored 28 runs, earned 44 hits, 11 doubles, 1 triple, and 7 home runs, 38 RBIs, 78 total bases for a .497 slugging percentage, 17 walks, hit by a pitch 5 times, 22 strike outs, grounded into only 1 double play, had a .365 on-base percentage, did not steal a base in 3 attempts, committed 14 errors in those 43 games for a .900 fielding percentage.

Good luck to Eric Swain in the M.I.N.K. League actions this summer.

Go Cats!!
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Jon Pomatto to pitch for the St. Joseph Mustangs in 2013

Photo courtesy of Northwestbearcats.com

Jon Pomatto is on the roster of the 2013 St. Joseph Mustangs, a member of the MINK league.  The St. Joseph Mustangs baseball club has won the last two consecutive league titles and play in historic Phil Welch Stadium in St. Joseph, Missouri.  Jon has signed to play as a pitcher.  A hip injury cost Jon most of the 2013 season where he played just 3 games (all starts), batted .200, with only 5 at bats, 2 runs scored, 1 hit, slugged .200, 2 walks, 2 hit by pitches, 1 strike-out, .556 on-base percentage, 1 stolen base in 1 attempt, and no errors.

How much Jon will play with the Mustangs will depend on how far along his rehab has progressed since the injury.  If the body is able, expect Jon to turn heads in the MINK league.

Go Cats!!
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Zach Douglas to play for the Chillicothe Mudcats in 2013

Zach Douglas will be playing for the Chillicothe Mudcats in 2013.  Zach, a native of Wheeling, Missouri, plays catcher for the Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats baseball team.  He recently completed his freshman season at Northwest.  Zach did not get a lot of playing opportunities in 2013 but made the most of the opportunities provided to him.  In 2013, Zach appeared in 4 games, batted a perfect 1.000, with 1 at bat, 0 runs, 1 hit, no doubles, no triples, and no home runs.  Zach earned a RBI, has a 1.000 slugging percentage, 1.000 on-base percentage, and has a perfect fielding percentage of 1.000.

You can follow the Chillicothe Mudcats by clicking on the link below:

http://www.chillicothemudcats.com/index.html

Chillicothe, Missouri, is about a hour and a half from Kansas City if you drive north on I-35, take the Cameron exit on US Highway 36, drive east on Highway 36 for about 38 miles and you will arrive at Chillicothe.

Notable road games for the Mudcats:

June 7 at Clarinda;
June 12 at St. Joe;
June 26 at Clarinda;
June 27 at Omaha;
July 2 at Clarinda;
July 11 at St. Joe;
July 13 & 14 at Sedalia;
July 17 at St. Joe;

Best wishes to Zach this summer.  Go Cats!!

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Bearcat Eric McLaughlin to play for the Omaha Diamond Spirit of the MINK League

Photo courtesy of Northwestbearcats.com

Northwest Missouri State University Bearcat baseball player Eric McGlauflin announced he will play for the Omaha Diamond Spirit of the M.I.N.K. League in the 2013.  Eric had a terrific 2013 NCAA season playing mostly DH due to coming back from a shoulder injury the previous year.  During the 2013 NCAA season, Eric batted .301, appeared in 46 of 49 games with 43 starts, had 163 at bats, scored 35 runs, earned 49 hits, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 6 home runs, 33 RBIs, slugging .454, drew 11 walks, got hit by a pitch 6 times, struck out only 15 times, was on base .365 percent of the time, stole 6 bases in 8 attempts, and did not commit an error.

The Omaha Diamond Spirit play its home games at JJ Isaacson Field at Seymour Smith Park located at 68th and Harrison in Omaha, Nebraska.  Bearcat fans near Omaha will be able to cheer on Eric during the MINK season with several home games scheduled from June through July.  Key road game dates include the following:

June 6 in Clarinda versus the A's;
June 7-8 in Sedalia versus the Bombers;
June 13-16 in Springfield and Joplin;
June 21 in St. Joseph versus the Mustangs;
June 22 in Chillicothe versus the Mudcats;
July 3 in Chillicothe versus the Mudcats;
July 6 in St. Joseph versus the Mustangs;
July 10 & 17 in Clarinda versus the A's;
July 19 in St. Joseph versus the Mustangs.

The Omaha Diamond Spirit have had approximately 18 players play professional baseball following their careers in Omaha.

You can follow Eric's progress this summer by clicking on the link below:

http://www.omahadiamondspirit.com/index.php

Go Cats!!
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Former Bearcats Cameron Dodd & Ben Stedronsky lead West Texas College to baseball success

West Texas College Head Coach (and former Bearcat) Cameron Dodd -

Cameron Dodd entered 2013 in his 3nd season at WTC as head baseball coach. During Coach Dodd’s brief tenure as head coach the Westerners program has been on the rise.  The past season saw the Westerners reach the Region V Tournament for the first time in program history and had one player (Thurman Hall, 37th Round, Chicago White Sox) selected in the 2012 MLB Draft.  In 2011, the Westerners finished with a 37-17 record, & 19-13 in conference play, both school records for total & conference wins.  The 2011 squad saw two players recognized as all-conference and had four sign NCAA D1 letters of intent.  Prior to being named the head coach, Dodd spent the 2010 season as an assistant at WTC, with his responsibilities including assisting with hitting, position coach for infielders and developing and implementing conditioning & weight programs for the position players.  Prior to arriving at WTC, Coach Dodd spent time working at his alma mater Northwest Missouri State University.  As a graduate assistant Dodd worked with the corner infielders and during his first season that group posted a .984 fielding percentage.   Before returning to his alma mater, Dodd spent one season as an assistant at Peru State College in Nebraska.  During his one season as hitting, infielders coach and recruiting coordinator, the Bobcats were able to advance to the conference tournament, had one player earn all-conference honors and improved significantly as an offensive unit.

Coach Dodd started his coaching career as a student assistant with Northwest Missouri State University.  After finishing his degree in Business Management, he moved back home to California and worked at East Union High School in his hometown of Manteca, CA.  Two players from that team went on to sign D1 scholarships and eventually pro contracts.  The past two summers, Coach Dodd has worked with the St. Joe Mustangs of the collegiate wood bat MINK League.  The Mustangs inaugural season saw the team lead the MINK in hitting and in 2010 finished 4th in the NBC World Series in Wichita, KS.  Dodd worked with players from all over the country including players from the SEC, Missouri Valley, WCC and Big XII conferences.  His one other summer coaching stint was with the Nebraska Sluggers of the prestigious Premier Baseball high school summer league.

Dodd’s college playing career began at San Joaquin Delta Community College where he received academic honor roll and honorable mention following his sophomore campaign.  After finishing at Delta, Dodd transferred to NCAA D2 Northwest Missouri State where he helped in setting team records in BB, hits, RBIs and runs scored in a season. 

Dodd received his Bachelor of Science in Business Management and his Masters of Science in Health & Physical Education from Northwest Missouri State University.

West Texas College Assistant Coach (and former Bearcat) Ben Stedronsky -

A native of Lincoln, NE, Ben Stedronsky graduated from Lincoln Southwest High School in 2005 where he went on to play at Northwest Missouri State University from 2007-2010. He pitched out of the bullpen for the Bearcats and tallied 53 career appearances, which was 2nd in school history. He graduated from Northwest in the spring of 2010 with a degree in Corporate Recreation and Wellness.

In the spring of 2011 he was a volunteer assistant back at Lincoln Southwest where his team went 18-2 and won the city title. He was also the bullpen coach for the St. Joseph Mustangs of the M.I.N.K. league that summer. The team finished 42-12, won their league and went 2-2 in the NBC World Series. The 2011-2012 season was Stedronsky’s first year at WTC. He was the first base coach while coaching the outfielders and helping out with the hitters and pitchers. That year the team finished 28-30, which was good for 4th in the WJCAC and qualified the Westerners for their first ever appearance in the Regional Tournament, going 1-2.

During the summer season Ben reported back to St. Joseph, Missouri as the pitching coach for the Mustangs. His pitching staff combined for a 3.31 ERA and a .245 opponent batting average, both 2nd in the M.I.N.K and led the league in WHIP (1.33), Wins (28), and shutouts (8). The Mustangs finished 28-17 in league play and won The M.I.N.K. while finishing up the summer season 5th at the NBC Tournament in Wichita, KS. 

Go Cats!!

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Northwest Missouri State University releases new athletics logos

The Northwest Missouri State University athletics department released new athletics logos on Saturday, April 20, 2013.  As noted on the Northwest Athletics' Department's press release, "For nearly two decades, Northwest Missouri State University athletics has been represented by the Bearcat paw. Today, Northwest is proud to unveil a modern and consistent brand that will carry the future of Bearcat athletics and uphold the history of the iconic logo."

See Northwest's official video by clicking here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_Iqt66Qoa8&feature=youtu.be

See Northwest's official announcement by clicking here:  http://www.nwmissouri.edu/sports/football/2012/pressreleases/13fb0420.htm

The N-paw will continue to be Northwest's primary logo for its athletic brand.  In addition to the primary logo, Northwest announced several secondary logos including claw marks, bearcat eyes, a new Bobby Bearcat, a child-friendly Bobby Bearcat, a new "N", and a special font used solely for Northwest's athletics.  You can see the entire family of logos for the Northwest Missouri State University Athletics' Department by clicking on the link below:

http://www.nwmissouri.edu/sports/PDF/NewAthleticsLogos_Summary.pdf

From the B2R's memory, the original N-paw was the first logo Northwest Missouri State University used to brand itself with the school using several different looks, logos, fonts, lettering, on apparel and team uniforms over the years prior to that.  I can remember the football team's helmet having the following logos as I grew-up to include:  Cats, N.W.M.S.U., NW, and Bearcats.  I've seen the baseball team uniforms to include a NW in a similar design as a Yankees logo (intertwined letters in a skinny font), a capital letter N, N.W.M.S.U, Bearcats, Cats, a N with toenails on top of it, and Northwest.  In Basketball, I remember N.W.M.S.U., Bearcats, Cats, Northwest, and (I think) Northwest Missouri.

The University is trying to create a brand where Bearcat fans, student-athletes, supporters, and families can all identify to and with.  Prior to the release of the new family of logos, Northwest had the original N-paw as its sole approved logo (with the cartoon Bobby Bearcat being discontinued a year or two ago).  All items purchased with Northwest's logos go to support the Northwest Athletics' Department and all student-athletes.

You can click on the following links to purchase items with the new logo:

http://www.shopbearcats.com/

http://www.studentbodyonline.com/

http://www.jocksnitch.com/

Go Cats!!
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Former Bearcat Jordan Bischel leads Midland University Warriors to NAIA post-season

Photo courtesy of Midland University

Photo courtesy of Northwestbearcats

Jordan Bischel leads Midland University Warriors to Conference Tournament Championship & NAIA Play-offs in first year as skipper.

The Bearcat Nation knows the B2R is a big fan of Jordan Bischel.  In my opinion, he is one of the premier up and coming collegiate managers in the game.  In his first year as Head Coach of Midland University baseball team in Fremont, Nebraska, Jordan's team went 31-24 in 2013, plus he played for the GPAC Conference Tournament Championship and qualified for the NAIA play-offs.  Jordan's team more then doubled its wins from the previous season's 13 victories.  It was Midland's first winning season in baseball since the 2007-2008 academic year.  Midland's 31 victories are more wins then the school earned in one season since before the 2006-2007 academic year.  The Warriors have a team batting average of .258, with a .337 slugging percentage, and a .339 on-base percentage.  The Warriors stole 97 bases in 124 attempts this year.  As a team, the Warriors' pitched a remarkable 3.92 in 20 complete games with opponents' batting a mere .265 against them.  Defensively, the Warriors had a fielding percentage of .960 with 60 errors (averaged 1.13 errors per game).

In the B2R's humble opinion, Jordan Bischel is your GPAC Baseball Coach of the Year in 2013.

Way to go, Jordan.

Go Cats!!

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Northwestbearcats.com - Abernathy named MIAA Hitter of the week

Ryan Abernathy, #6, courtesy of Northwestbearcats.com

Maryville, Mo. - After a stellar final week of the season, Northwest Missouri State centerfielder Ryan Abernathy was tabbed as MIAA hitter of the week.

Read more by clicking on the link:

http://www.nwmissouri.edu/sports/baseball/2013/pressreleases/13bsb0501.htm

Go Cats!!
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