Adams, Roy, and Caenepeel shine in Northwest's win over Western 5-2

St. Joseph, Mo. - Ozzie Adams, Aaron Barratt, and Anthony Caenepeel all made major contributions to a critical Bearcat win over rival Missouri Western on Tuesday, April 25, 2017, in St. Joseph, by the score 5-2. Ozzie and Aaron each had multi-hit games and Caenepeel pitched 4.0 innings without allowing an earned run. Caenepeel allowed only 1 hit to a potent Western offense. The Bearcat defense had a tough inning but played solid besides that. Northwest is now 27-16, 16-14 MIAA with the win. The Bearcats will now face the #1 team in the MIAA standings this weekend, Emporia State. The boys will be fired-up for this series so expect an epic weekend of must watch baseball. Will Emporia State look past the Bearcats? Don't count on it from a Bob Fornelli team. The 'Cats will get the Hornets' best shot. Good. Let the best team win.

Offensively, Aaron Barratt and Ozzie Adams were the most valuable players for Northwest. Barratt went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored in right field. Ozzie Adams went 2 for 5 with 1 RBI and 1 run scored on the day. Garrett Fort went 1 for 4 with a sacrifice and 1 RBI in center field. James Holler went 1 for 4 with 1 RBI at first base. Jay Hrdlicka picked-up a RBI with a sacrifice fly at catcher. Kevin Handzlik earned 2 walks as the designated hitter. Logan Rycraft went 1 for 2 with a sacrifice at short stop. In total, Northwest scored 5 runs off of 7 hits, 4 RBIs, 4 walks, 10 strike-outs and left 7 runners on base.

Defensively, Northwest committed 2 errors that led to 1 unearned run in the game.

Pitching, Quintin VanAckeren earned the start in the game. Quintin worked 3.0 innings, allowed 4 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 1 strike-out and 1 balk in the game. Anthony Caenepeel came into the game in the 4th inning and worked 4.0 innings to earn the win in the game. Anthony's record now stands at 7-5 on the year. In total, Anthony allowed 1 hit, 1 unearned run, 0 walks and 3 strike-outs in the game. In the 8th inning, Nikko Pablo came into the game to close out the victory for Northwest. For his efforts, Nikko picked-up his 8th save on the year. In total, Nikko worked 2.0 innings, allowed 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks and 2 strike-outs.

NWMSU's article on the game - http://www.bearcatsports.com/news/2017/4/25/baseball-tuesday.aspx?path=baseball

Next - Northwest will travel to Kansas to play Emporia State in a huge 3-game series. The series is set to begin Friday, April 28th, with a double-header at 2pm. Game 3 will be Sunday, April 30th, at 1pm.

Go Cats!!
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