Brady Roberts pitched a complete-game, five-hitter in leading Northwestern to a 7-0 win over Midland in the first game of the Jamestown Bracket of the GPAC Postseason Tournament.
The Red Raiders improve to 23-24 overall and move into a winner’s bracket game against the host Jimmies on Friday at noon.
Roberts allowed just five base runners, four singles and one double, while striking out two in his 84-pitch gem. The freshman pitched his second shutout and third comlete game of the season, improving his record to 6-3. Robert’s mastery against Midland is just the third shutout by a Red Raider in postseason play since 2005 (Dusty Meyn vs Dakota State in 2007 regionals; Ryan Brasser vs Hastings in 2014 GPAC Tourney).
Northwestern bats pounded out 12 hits against the Warriors, led by Sutton Derr who went 4-for-5 with an RBI and run scored. Austin Zylstra went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run, his fifth of the season, in the top of the fourth. Ben De Boer (2/5, 2 RBI) and A.J. Nitzschke (2/4) also had multiple hits.
The Red Raiders opened the game’s scoring with a run in the top of the first. Derr hit a one-out double, advanced to third on a groundout hit by Drew Schutt and crossed home plate on a wild pitch. Zylstra’s home run in the top of the fourth made the score 3-0, where it remained until the seventh inning when De Boer hit a two-run double, scoring both Britton Yoder and Mason O’Donnell.
Head Coach Brian Wede’s squad pushed two more runs across in the eighth after a double by Yoder, a Midland error and RBI single from Derr.
Five Midland players had one hit each; Dakota Thornton had the lone extra-base hit, a double with two outs in the seventh inning. Andrew Snook (6-4) took the loss, giving up eight hits and five runs in the first six innings.
Roberts retired the Warriors in order in five of the nine innings and sent down seven straight Midland hitters to close the game.
