Holler & Hassman have a day as Caenepeel & 'pen keep Cats winning

Kansas City, Mo. - James Holler and Luke Hassman had their Wheaties Saturday morning as both Bearcat sluggers had exemplary performances on Saturday versus Rockhurst to help Northwest win 8-1 in Kansas City. Luke set the stage for an early Bearcat lead when he hit a 2-run home run in the 1st inning. James Holler was on a rampage the entire day and went 4 for 5 at the plate. Caenepeel had a dominant performance with 5+ innings of work with 1 walk & 5 strike-outs and only allowed 1 run in the game. The Bearcat bullpen locked down after a bases loaded jam in the 6th inning with huge performances by Waggs, Tags, Otto, and Pablo. Rockhurst did not score a run against the Bearcat bullpen. Northwest had a terrific day at the ballpark on Saturday against a high quality opponent. Northwest is now 13-8 on the year.

Offensively, James Holler was Northwest's most valuable player in the game. In total, James went 4 for 5 (including a double) with 2 runs scored against Rockhurst. Ozzie Adams went 2 for 5 with 1 run scored on the day. Landon Figg went 2 for 5 (including a double) with 3 runs scored in the game. Luke Hassman started the Bearcat offense with a huge home run in the 1st inning to score 2 runs. In total, Luke went 1 for 5 with 3 RBIs and 1 run scored on the day. Jay Hrdlicka went 2 for 3 (including a triple) with 2 RBIs, 1 walk, was hit by a pitch, and scored 1 run in the game. Kolby Greenslade went 2 for 5 (including a double) with 2 RBIs against Rockhurst. In total, Northwest scored 8 runs off of 14 hits, 7 RBIs, 3 walks, 5 strike-outs, and left 9 runners on base. 

Defensively, Northwest committed 2 errors that did not lead to any unearned runs.

Pitching, Anthony Caenepeel earned the start for Northwest and picked-up a victory for his exemplary effort. Anthony's 2017 record moved to 4-3 with Saturday's win. In total, Anthony worked 5.1 innings, allowed 5 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 5 strike-outs, and 1 wild pitch. Quintin VanAckeren came into the game with 1 out in the 6th inning but had a tough day. VanAckeren walked 2 batters and hit a third with the 3 batters he faced and did not record an out. Jacob Wagner came into the game with 1 out in the 6th inning, bases loaded, and pitched the Bearcats out of a jam without allowing a run. In total, Jacob worked 0.2 of an inning, allowed 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, and he struck-out 1 batter in a masterful performance. In the 7th innings, Austin Battaglia came into the game and worked 1.0 inning, allowed 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks, and 0 strike-outs. In the 8th inning, Cole Otto came into the game and worked 1.0 inning, allowed 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, and 1 strike-out. In the 9th inning, Nikko Pablo came into the game and worked 1.0 inning, allowed 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks, and struck-out 2 batters to close out the win for Northwest.

NWMSU's article on the game - http://www.bearcatsports.com/news/2017/3/18/baseball-rockhurst-saturday.aspx?path=baseball

Next for NWMSU baseball - Northwest and Rockhurst return to Maryville to play the 2nd and final game of the series at Bearcat baseball field. First pitch is set for 1pm. 

Go Cats!!

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