Pittsburgh, KS - Your Northwest Bearcat baseball team defeated Pitt State 7-2 on Saturday, April 1, 2017, in Kansas, to win Game 2 of the series. Northwest is now 19-10, 8-8 MIAA with Saturday's win. Joseph Hietpas was terrific and threw a gem of a game. Jacob Wagner just stomped out whatever rally Pitt State tried to pull in the 8th. Nikko Pablo closed out the game in the 9th. Northwest's offense hummed along and put pressure on Pitt State most innings. The 'Cats stole a few bags and nearly everyone in the line-up earned hits. Northwest's dynamic 1-2 punch of Caenepeel and Hietpas has been a thrilling combination for Bearcat fans this season. Northwest's offense was consistent up and down the line-up. The Bearcat defense has been terrific. As a result, Northwest has the opportunity to go for a road conference series sweep on Sunday, April 2nd, at 1pm.
Offensively, Garrett Fort was Northwest's most valuable player in Game 2. In total, Garrett went 3 for 4 (including a double) with 2 RBIs, 1 run scored, 1 stolen base, and 1 hit by pitch. Luke Hassman went 3 for 5 with 2 RBIs in right field. Ozzie Adams went 2 for 5 with 1 RBI, 1 stolen base and 1 run scored at 2nd base. Kevin Handzlik went 2 for 5 (including a double) with 1 run scored as Northwest's DH. Landon Figg earned a hit and scored a run as the Bearcat 3rd baseman. Jay Hrdlicka played catcher and earned a hit, too. Logan Rycraft was the Bearcat short stop and went 1 for 2 with 1 RBI, 2 runs scored, 1 walk and 1 hit by pitch. In total, Northwest scored 7 runs off of 13 hits, 6 RBIs, 1 walk, 6 strike-outs, and left 9 runners on base.
Defensively, Northwest committed 1 error in the game.
Pitching, Joseph Hietpas earned the start and picked-up his 4th win of the season. Hietpas is now 4-1 in 2017 after another terrific performance. In total, Hietpas worked 7.1 innings, allowed 6 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 3 strike-outs and 1 wild pitch. In the 8th inning, Hietpas struck out the first Pitt State batter. The 2nd batter singled to first base. The 3rd batter doubled to left field and scored the 2nd batter. With 1 out and a runner on 2nd base in a 5-2 game in the 8th, Coach Loe called for Jacob Wagner and his fire hose arm to extinguish the Pitt State rally. Jacob Wagner did his job, again. The first Pitt State batter Wagner faced grounded out to third base. The second Pitt State batter Wagner faced struck out. In total, Wagner threw 0.2 of an inning, allowed 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks and struck-out 1 batter. In the 9th inning, Nikko Pablo came into the game to close it out for Northwest. In total, Nikko worked 1.0 inning, allowed 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks, hit 1 batter, and struck out 2 Gorillas to end the game.
NWMSU's article on the game - http://www.bearcatsports.com/news/2017/4/1/baseball-pitt-saturday.aspx?path=baseball
Next - Your Bearcat baseball team goes for the road series sweep on Sunday, April 2nd. First Pitch is 1pm. Its going to be a difficult challenge to sweep Pitt State in Game 3. So far this season, Central Missouri and Missouri Western could not do so when they had the chance. Northwest will have to keep the gas pedal down against the scrappy Pitt State team that is finding its way under a new head coach. If the Bearcats execute Coach Loe's game plan with focus and passion they can win this game which will have a dramatic impact on the MIAA standings for post-season play. Game 3 may be the single most important game for Northwest at this point in the season because it could mean being anywhere from 6th place to 11th place. Go get'em boys.
Go Cats!!
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