Maryville, Mo. - In this week of Bearcat baseball, your Northwest Missouri State University Bearcat baseball team won four straight against William Jewell, Rockhurst, and Nebraska-Kearney. During the four-game streak, Northwest had an extra-innings walk-off, a run-rule, a whole lot of pitching and terrific defense to see their 2017 record move to 15-8, 4-6 MIAA.
Snapshot of your Bearcats - As a team, Northwest is batting .278 with .402 slugging percentage, a .376 slugging percentage, 12 home runs, 11 stolen bases in 18 attempts, .969 fielding percentage, and a 3.08 ERA.
Bearcat highlights this week -
James Holler went 9 for 17 with 2 RBIs, 5 runs scored, with 4 doubles, and 1 home run. James is now leading Northwest with his .348 batting average and .565 slugging percentage. The speedster from St. Robert, Missouri, has 1 stolen base in 1 attempt this season raising his career total to 6. Attaboy "wheels." James is crushing baseballs and getting on base with a .406 on-base percentage. James has been a hard worker and developed himself into a legitimate 4-hole power hitter for your Northwest Bearcat baseball team in the B2R's opinion. His statistics have improved every season in his Bearcat career and that is a tribute to his hard work and determination. An attaboy to James Holler, the pride of Waynesville High School, for an exemplary week of baseball
Ozzie Adams went 6 for 16 with 5 RBIs, 2 runs scored, 1 home run, and 3 walks this week. Ozzie is now the second leading batter on Northwest's roster with a .326 average and 2nd on the team with a .484 slugging % so far this season. Ozzie Adams is a 5'9" spark plug with a 10' tall heart. Ozzie has managed to get himself on base in 21 of Northwest's 23 games. In 1 of those 2 games he did not get on base, he still earned a RBI. Ozzie is simply the textbook definition of consistent offensive threat while playing a premium defensive position in second base. An attaboy to Ozzie Adams for an exemplary week of baseball.
Garrett Fort went 5 for 14 with 2 RBIs, 2 runs scored, 1 double, 1 home run, 3 walks, and 1 sacrifice this week. Garrett is now batting .295 with 21 runs scored, 7 doubles, 2 home runs, 11 RBIs, .432 slugging percentage, 12 walks, 4 times hit by a pitch, .396 on-base percentage, 3 sacrifices, and 2 stolen bases. Garrett is just a tough out for opposing pitchers with his ability to foul off good pitches and punish mistakes. The senior from Ankeny, Iowa, already matched last year's home run total and has speed to burn in center field. Garrett had big shoes to fill after Ryan Abernathy's graduation and stepped in and succeeded with that opportunity. An attaboy to Garrett Fort for an exemplary week of baseball.
Logan Rycraft went 4 for 11 with 4 RBIs, 2 runs scored, 2 walks and 2 sacrifices this week. Logan is now batting .284, slugging .343, with a .437 on-base percentage, 3 stolen bases, and 16 walks to only 9 strike-outs. Logan has locked down the short stop position and his batting average continues to climb. Logan has not committed an error in over 2 weeks. Ladies and gentlemen, he is a sophomore, too. An attaboy to Logan Rycraft on an exemplary week of baseball.
Jay Hrdlicka went 3 for 9 with 3 RBIs, 4 runs scored, 1 triple, 7 walks, 1 stolen base, and 1 hit by pitch. Jay is batting .254 but has a .436 on-base percentage, a .441 slugging percentage, 2 stolen bases in 2 attempts, 1 double, 2 triples, and 2 home runs. Jay had 14 walks and was hit by a pitch 5 times this season. Jay has safely reached base in 17 of the 20 games he has played in this season. Jay is a hard working and team first ballplayer. Edgy on the field and laid back off it. Great teammate. A B2R favorite. An attaboy to Jay Hrdlicka on an exemplary week of baseball.
Eddy Kraber may have had the best week of all Bearcats. A notable achievement considering this week of tremendous team success. Kraber made 2 starts, worked 12.0 innings, allowed 12 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks, 7 strike-outs, and earned his first win as a Bearcat. So far this season, Kraber is 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA, 26.2 innings pitched, 6 walks and 15 strike-outs.
Jacob Wagner had 3 appearances this week and worked 2.2 innings, allowed 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 1 strike-out, and lowered his ERA to a team leading 1.08. Jacob is the "Pull in Case of an Emergency" fire extinguisher for your Bearcat baseball team coming into games in extremely high leverage situations to get the Cats out of jams without allowing a run. An attaboy to Jacob Wagner for an exemplary week of baseball.
Anthony Caenepeel made 1 start and earned the victory this week. In total, Anthony worked 5.1 innings, allowed 5 hits, 1 run, 1 walk and 5 strike-outs. Caenepeel's record now stands at 4-3 on the year. Of the starters, Caenepeel has the best ERA at 2.87 with 53 strike-outs and 14 walks. Caenepeel's work ethic and drive to win is second to none. The B2R is glad he is a Bearcat. An attaboy to Anthony Caenepeel on an exemplary week of baseball.
Joseph Hietpas made 1 start this week and worked 5.0 innings, allowed 3 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, and 7 strike-outs, in only 71 pitches. On the season, Joseph has a 2.88 ERA, 2-1 record, 2 complete games, 17 walks, 44 strike-outs, and opponents are batting a mere .184. It seems to the B2R that Hietpas would rather rip off the batter's arms and beat him with them instead of allowing a base runner. Love the fire. Love the passion. Love the fighter pilot mentality on the mound. An attaboy to Joseph Hietpas for an exemplary week of baseball.
Nikko Pablo made 3 appearances this week and worked 3.0 innings, allowed 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks, and 5 strike-outs. On the season, Nikko's ERA now stands at 2.89. Nikko's record is 2-1 with 4 saves, 4 walks, and 15 strike-outs. Nikko's work ethic is legendary. Kid puts every ounce of effort in his 5'7" 145 lbs frame. Captain America courage on the mound and off the field. An attaboy to Nikko Pablo on an exemplary week of baseball.
Austin Battaglia made 3 appearances this week. Battaglia worked 3.0 innings, allowed 3 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks and 4 strike-outs. On the season, Battaglia has a 2.89 ERA, 2-0 record, 11 strike-outs and only 5 walks. Austin is having a terrific 2017 season. He is the greatest kid you will ever meet. He is a hard worker and a great teammate. An attaboy to Austin Battaglia for having an exemplary week of baseball.
Cole Otto made 1 appearance this week and worked 1.0 inning against Rockhurst. Cole allowed 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk and 1 strike-out.
Next for your Bearcats - Northwest's 3-game series against UCM was moved back a day to better match-up with the forecasted weather. Game 1 is Saturday, March 25th at 2pm. Game 2 is Sunday, March 26th at 2pm. Game 3 is Monday, March 27th at 2pm. UCM is presently in 2nd place with the MIAA and approximately 1 GB from 1st place Emporia State.
According to statistics with the MIAA Conference website, here are the UCM's and Northwest's rankings:
Batting - UCM ranked 4th and Northwest ranked 10th
Fielding - Northwest ranked 2nd and UCM ranked 10th
Pitching - UCM ranked 1st and Northwest ranked 2nd (ERA rank. UCM allowed more runs than NW in the same number of games)
So there you have it. An epic match-up with play-off implication for both teams. Expect a tremendous weekend of baseball.
Go Cats!!
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