Series Re-Cap - Henderson State

Series Re-Cap - Henderson State

Arkadelphia, Arkansas - Your Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats baseball team lost to the Henderson State University Reddies by the score 6-1. Northwest's record fell to 1-3 with the loss. The Bearcats played in front of 165 fans in 2 hours and 21 minutes. Despite the appearance of the score, Henderson State's offense was basically 2 players who earned 4 of the 5 total hits for the squad. Northwest had chances with 8 runners left on base but failed to get a base hit with runners in scoring position. Northwest could not take advantage of a solid pitching performance by Anthony Caenepeel who was a work-horse for the Bearcats. Overall, Northwest held its own against the Reddies with an encouraging performance.

Offense - Jay Hrdlicka and Kevin Handzlik were the Bearcats' MVPs of the series. Jay Hrdlicka went 2 for 4 in the game. Kevin Handzlik also went 2 for 4 in the game. Also in the game, Nick Gotta went 1 for 4 while batting lead-off. Austin Wulff also went 1 for 4 in the game. Kolby Greenslade had the Bearcats only RBI and went 1 for 4 (a triple). Worth noting, Garrett Fort earned 2 walks and a stolen base in the game. In total, Northwest smashed 7 hits, scored 1 run, 1 RBI, 3 walks, 9 strike-outs, and 8 runners left on base.

Defense - Northwest was not charged with an error in the game.

Pitching - Anthony Caenepeel earned the start but tough luck ensued and he was tagged with the loss in the game to see his 2016 record fall to 0-2. In total, Anthony worked 6.0 innings, allowed 2 hits, 3 runs (all earned), 2 walks, 6 strike-outs, 1 wild pitch, 1 balk, and he hit one batter. Bryce Shea came into the game in the 7th inning but had a tough day. In total, Shea worked 0.2 of an inning, allowed 3 hits, 3 runs (all earned), 1 walk, 1 strike-out, 0 balks, 0 wild pitches, and he did not hit a batter. With 2 outs in the 7th inning, Hondo Pearcy came into the game and did an outstanding job while closing out the game. In total, Hondo worked 1.1 of an inning, allowed 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 1 strike-out, 0 wild pitches, 0 balks, and he did not hit a batter.

Links - Here is Northwest's article about the game from its Athletics' Department official website, bearcatsports.com - http://www.bearcatsports.com/news/2016/2/11/BB_0211161550.aspx

B2R thoughts - Despite the score, Northwest's pitching held 7 of 9 batters in check and the defense did a solid job. Northwest played its 3rd game while HSU played its 7th. HSU's 2 batters that did well against Northwest pitching each had 2 hits with one of the two players scoring 3 RBIs in the game. In the end, HSU's timely offense maximized its opportunities to carry the day - only leaving 2 runners on base. Throw out Shea's tough outing and the score is remarkably different. In the B2R's opinion, the Northwest offense is about to explode. Bearcats are finding ways on base and only need that timely hit when runners are in scoring position. That will come with more time, reps, and opportunities. In the end, Northwest went toe-to-toe with one of the elite NCAA D2 baseball programs and held serve. Shea is going to be a fantastic option out of the bullpen this year. He will be fine. I'm excited to see Hondo have a good outing against a good offense. Defensively, Northwest was fine in the game. It will be very interesting to see how Northwest does against Arkansas Tech. Stay tuned...

Go Cats!!

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