Bolivar, Mo. - A tough day for Bearcat pitching and defense leads to a Southwest Baptist win by the score 17-6 in Bolivar on Friday. Tip your cap to Southwest Baptist as the purple Bearcats had a great approach at the plate, did not swing at many pitches in the dirt, and when they swung it was a nice and quick swing through the zone to punch the ball into play. Joseph Hietpas was the Northwest starter but did not last deep into the game. Northwest's front line bullpen were spent in Game 1 so Coach Loe had to call upon other Bearcat relievers to stop the bleeding. Statisticsally, the bullpen did not do well. But, the B2R was very excited to see how the other relievers used their opportunity and found many silver linings to this rain cloud of a game.
A few thoughts about the relievers in this game. The B2R liked what he saw from them. The statistics are not hot but the B2R eyeball test left me with positives from these pitchers, to wit:
Cole Otto put in 3.0 innings today. He started sharp but then appeared to B2R to over-throw. Cole was able to make adjustments on the mound though which is tough to do. I liked Cole's stuff and his fight on the mound. B2R sees a lot of good things from Cole as he continues to develop his craft. He isn't the tallest guy on the team but the smaller guys usually have the most fight in them. I can't wait to see Cole again. Very impressed with his upside today.
Jimmy McElwain came into the game and battled through like an upperclassman should. He was about to finish his 2nd complete inning but an error kept the inning alive for SBU and Coach Loe wanted to different match-up. The B2R was very impressed with Jimmy and felt he did an exemplary job of stopping the boat from taking in more water. The B2R has always been a Jimmy McElwain fan. Today was another example why Jimmy is a B2R guy. You stick a guy in a battle when the odds are against him and watch him fight out of it. Jimmy fights. Love that outta him.
Bryce Shea hasn't had much opportunity in 2017. When he got the call to come into the game, I was excited to see him take advantage of that opportunity. Bryce was the Bryce of old, inducing weak grounders and bad contact with his trademark submarine style. Bryce had the best statistics of the day for your Northwest pitching staff and worked 1.1 inning without allowing a run. The silver lining in this series could very well be Bryce Shea if something clicked and everything is in sync with his delivery. Bryce's performance was fantastic. The B2R is really excited to see him get another opportunity to see how he does there because that would give Coach Loe two submarine-style pitchers to compliment his hard throwing 3/4's delivery relievers. Bookmark this entry of the B2R - If Bryce Shea tweaked his engine so his Ferrari of a delivery is in tune, your Bearcat bullpen went from best ever to completely unhittable in my opinion.
Logan Moose's statistics are not going to be flattering but the B2R really liked his performance on the mound today. He was a schmidge away from a called third strike with 2 batters in his performance. Logan is going to be a success in life. He is a hard worker. The whole Bearcat team was rooting for the kid from the dugout and the field. That is evidence the guy is a good teammate and takes advantage of his God-given talent. He is a great guy. A couple of adjustments and he gets out of the inning without a run in my opinion. The B2R was impressed with Logan's fight and demeanor on the mound in this game.
Ross Davis did not have much of a chance to show his stuff in this game. When he came into the game, the SBU Bearcats were steamrolling to a 10-run advantage. The B2R was happy to see Ross get the opportunity to pitch. Despite the outcome, Ross has good velocity on his pitches with what looks to me to be a nice slurve or cutter. The B2R was happy to see Ross on the mound and look forward to his development for more opportunities in the future.
Offensively, Ozzie Adams, Landon Figg, and Luke Hassman were Northwest's most valuable players in the game. Ozzie Adams went 2 for 4 and scored 2 runs in the game. Landon Figg went 2 for 4 with 1 RBI and scored 2 runs in the game. Luke Hassman went 2 for 4 with 1 RBI and scored 1 run on the day. Luke Wilkinson went 1 for 2 as a late-game defensive substitution at first base. Wilkinson also scored 1 run in the game. Aaron Barratt earned the start in right field and went 1 for 4 with 1 RBI on the day. Kolby Greenslade went 1 for 3 with a walk in the game. Logan Rycraft also made things happen by earning a walk and 1 RBI on the day. In total, Northwest scored 6 runs off of 10 hits, 4 RBIs, 2 walks, 6 strike-outs, and left 7 runners on base.
Defensively, Northwest committed 3 errors that led to 1 unearned run in the game.
Pitching, Joseph Hietpas earned the start but picked-up the loss to see his 2017 record move to 4-2. Joseph worked 1.0 inning, allowed 5 hits, 6 runs, 4 walks, 0 strike-outs and 2 wild pitches. Cole Otto came into the game in the 2nd inning and worked 3.0 innings, allowed 1 hit, 3 runs, 5 walks, 2 strike-outs, 1 wild pitch and he hit 1 batter. In the 5th inning, Jimmy McElwain came into the game and worked 1.2 inning, allowed 3 hits, 2 runs (only 1 earned), no walks and 1 strike-out. In the 6th inning with 2 outs, Bryce Shea came into the game and worked 1.1 inning, allowed 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk and 1 strike-out. In the 8th inning, Logan Moose came into the game and worked 0.1 inning, allowed 2 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 0 strike-outs and 1 wild pitch. Ross Davis then came into the game and worked 0.1 inning, allowed 2 hits, 2 runs and no walks or strike-outs.
Next - Northwest and Southwest Baptist conclude their 3-game series on Saturday, April 14th in Bolivar at 1pm. The game will be a single, 9-inning contest between the two Bearcat squads.
The B2R expects a Northwest victory in Game 3 because the troubles that confronted our boys are an easy fix: play some cards, grab a football and scrimmage in the hotel parking lot, pour hot sauce in some poor freshman's drink and get back to having fun. Baseball is not like football, basketball, or any other sport where you are supposed to succeed more times than not. You don't get to run out the clock when you have a lead late in the game. You have to give your opponent his chance. You are going to fail at the plate most of the time. If Northwest can get back to having fun by stop pressing or being frustrated with an out or a call against them then Game 3 is ours and the rest of the MIAA slate is so, too.
Go Cats!!
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