Kansas City, MO (NSUWolves.com) – Northern State swept Rockhurst in Saturday’s doubleheader, winning 6-5 and 11-4 in Kansas City. The Wolves had to fend off a late Hawk rally in the first game however they left no doubt in the second game as it was all Northern from the start after a grand slam by Kai Brisk in the top of the first inning.

THE QUICK DETAILS

Final Score Game 1: NSU 6, RU 5

Final Score Game 2: NSU 11, RU 4

Records: NSU 3-2, RU 0-9

Attendance: 80

HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 1

• Northern State broke the game open with five runs in the top of the second inning
• Niko Pezonella drew a walk on the second at-bat of the inning and came around to score the next at-bat on a double to left-center by Gus Radel
• Easton Rerick followed-up Radel’s double with a 2-run homerun to right-center, pushing the lead to 3-0 early on
• Austin Portner reached base on a double down the left field line and crossed home plate after Jack Paulson sent the third double of the inning to left field; an RBI single by Karson Hesser scored Paulson and capped the scoring in the inning with the Wolves up 5-0
• In the top of the third Rerick knocked a double to left-center to score Radel and extend the lead to 6-0, however Rockhurst would plate their first run of the game in the bottom half of the inning with cut the lead back to five runs at 6-1
• The Hawks made one final push in the bottom of the seventh with two outs, scoring one run on an RBI single which loaded the bases and then clearing the bases the next at-bat with a double to right-center; Brian Baker ended the game with a strikeout to leave the winning run stranded at second base
• Northern State scored their six runs off nine hits, and committed four errors defensively in the game
• Baker pitched a complete game for the Wolves on the mound in his second start of the season, picking up the win to improve to 1-1

NORTHERN STATE STATISTICAL STANDOUTS – GAME 1

Brian Baker: 7.0 innings pitched, 5 strikeouts, win (1-1)

Easton Rerick: 2-for-3, 1 double, 1 homerun, 3 RBI, 1 run scored

Gus Radel: 2-for-3, 2 doubles, 1 RBI, 2 runs scored

HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 2

• Northern State grabbed the momentum right from the start as Jordan DeMarce and Karson Hesser were each hit by a pitch and Jack Paulson drew a walk before Kai Brisk cleared the bases with a grand slam to center field in only the fourth at-bat of the game
• Rockhurst scored two runs in the bottom of the first to cut the lead to 4-2
• The team’s combined only two hits from the second inning through the fifth inning before the Wolves plated five more runs in the top of the sixth
• Gus Radel and Mitchell Tolk each singled to right field to open the sixth inning before a sacrifice fly by Tyler Kimm scored Radel to push the lead to 5-2
• Austin Portner and Mateo Tahsini were each hit by a pitch to then load the bases; the next at-bat DeMarce would reach base on a fielding error by the first baseman, allowing Tolk to score and extend the lead to 6-2
• A 2-RBI single up the middle by Hesser scored Tahsini and Portner to make it an 8-2 game and DeMarce would end the scoring in the inning after crossing home plate on a wild pitch
• Kimm hit a solo homerun to left field in the top of the seventh, making the score 10-2, however the Hawks would only score one in the bottom of inning to cut the lead to seven and left the bases loaded
• RU scored their final run of the game on an RBI single up the middle in the bottom of the eighth inning to cut the NSU lead to 10-4
• Brisk would score NSU’s final run of the game in the top of the ninth, scoring from third on a wild pitch to push the lead back to 11-4
• Northern State scored their 11 runs off nine hits, and committed only two errors defensively in the game
• Michael Chevalier pitched 6.0 innings for the Wolves on the mound in his second start of the season, picking up the win to improve to 1-0

NORTHERN STATE STATISTICAL STANDOUTS – GAME 2

Michael Chevalier: 6.0 innings pitched, 6 strikeouts, win (1-0)

Kai Brisk: 2-for-5, 1 homerun, 4 RBI, 2 runs scored

Tyler Kimm: 1-for-3, 1 homerun, 2 RBI, 1 run scored

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Kansas City, MO (NSUWolves.com) – After Northern State swept the opening doubleheader of the series a day ago, Rockhurst returned the favor as the Wolves dropped a pair of close games by scores of 6-4 and 5-4 on Sunday. While Northern out-hit the Hawks in both games, unearned runs proved to be the difference in each game.

THE QUICK DETAILS

Final Score Game 1: NSU 4, RU 6

Final Score Game 2: NSU 4, RU 5

Records: NSU 3-4, RU 2-9

Attendance: 60

HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 1

• It wasn’t until the bottom of the third inning when Rockhurst struck first to break the scoreless tie, plating two runs to go up 2-0
• Northern State responded with two runs of their own in the top of the fourth inning as Gus Radel knocked a homerun to left field, scoring Reece Ragatz who singled to left-center the previous at-bat
• Max Otto struck out three consecutive batters in the bottom of the fourth, however the Hawks would take a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth with a pair of hits
• The Wolves got one run back in the top of the sixth when a bases loaded walk by Austin Portner allowed Kai Brisk to score and cut the lead to 5-3
• A solo homerun by RU in the bottom of the sixth pushed the lead back to three runs (6-3)
• Jordan DeMarce hit a leadoff single to left field and would later score on a single up the middle by Karson Hesser, however the Wolves would strand Hesser on first with a fly out and ground out to end the game
• Northern State scored their four runs off nine hits and committed one error defensively
• Otto suffered the loss on the mound for the Wolves in his second start of the season, falling to 0-1

NORTHERN STATE STATISTICAL STANDOUTS – GAME 1

Gus Radel: 3-for-3, 1 double, 1 homerun, 2 RBI, 1 run scored

Jordan DeMarce: 2-for-3, 1 run scored, 1 stolen base

Max Otto: 5.0 innings pitched, 7 strikeouts

HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 2

• After a 3-up, 3-down top half of the first for Northern State, Rockhurst once again stuck first with three consecutive singles to load the bases before a fielding error allowed the run to score and make it 1-0
• Niko Pezonella, Jack Paulson, and Easton Rerick all hit singles in the top of the second inning to load the bases, however a strikeout ended the inning to leave them stranded on base
• The Hawks extended the lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the third inning with a 2-run homerun
• Northern State got on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth inning with a 2-run homerun to right field by Pezonella, scoring Gus Radel who hit a leadoff single to start the inning
• The Wolves tied the game at three in the top of fifth inning with a double to right-center by Kai Brisk, scoring Portner from second base
• The Hawks went 3-up, 3-down in the bottom of the fifth inning and Northern responded by taking the lead (4-3) in the top of the sixth inning on the second homerun of the game by Pezonella, a solo shot to right-center
• Rockhurst won the game in the bottom of the seventh inning, scoring on a wild pitch and a bases loaded walk
• Northern State scored their four runs off nine hits and committed two errors defensively
• Mitchell Tolk suffered the loss on the mound for the Wolves after pitching 1.1 innings in his second relief appearance of the season, falling to 1-1

NORTHERN STATE STATISTICAL STANDOUTS – GAME 2

Niko Pezonella: 3-for-3, 2 homeruns, 3 RBI, 2 runs scored

Easton Rerick: 2-for-3, 1 double

Kai Brisk: 1-for-3, 1 double, 1 hit-by-pitch, 1 RBI

UP NEXT

The Northern State baseball team is on the road once again next weekend as they travel to Lebanon, Illinois, for a 4-game series with McKendree University. The series gets underway on Friday (March 3) afternoon with one game at 2 p.m. at Hypes Field. The teams will then return to the diamond for a doubleheader on Saturday (March 4) with games slated for 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. before the series finale at 12 p.m. on Sunday (March 5) afternoon.