JOPLIN, Mo. – The Northwestern College baseball team (2-2, 0-0 GPAC) concluded its four-game set with the Clarke University Pride (3-4, 0-0 HAAC) again splitting the day’s doubleheader, taking game one with a 6-4 tally. On the day, the Raider bats tallied three doubles and three triples.
“Brett Shelton was the key to game one,” noted head coach Brian Wede. “He did a great job of keeping them off balance and challenging the zone.”
GAME 1: Northwestern 6, Clarke 4
Northwestern got on the board first in the first game today, thanks again to the bat of junior Noa Vogel (Castle Pines, Colo./Lutheran) who drove in Drew Dykstra (Fr., Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) with an RBI fielder’s choice, giving the Raiders the early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
Clarke responded with the tying run in the third, as an error allowed the tying run to cross the plate in the top half of the third. Northwestern would respond with another go ahead run in the bottom of the third, thanks to a sacrifice fly from Kip Cullinan (Jr., Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) that scored Sam Stanford (So., Los Angeles, Calif./Pacifica Christian).
The fourth inning saw Northwestern extend their lead to 3-1 thanks to an RBI single from Isaac Thurm (Jr., Humboldt, Iowa/Humboldt).
The Pride would get one back in the fifth inning thanks to a solo shot from Paul Von Zbora. The Raiders would respond with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Tanner Schouten (Fr., Orange City, Iowa/Unity Christian) would score the final Raider run in the bottom of the sixth on a wild pitch, giving Northwestern a 6-2 lead.
Clarke would put two on the board in the seventh to make it interesting. With runners on the corners, Ryan Reynolds (Jr., Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville) would strike out the final Clarke hitter to secure the 6-4 victory and his first save of the season.
Dykstra tallied three hits in four at-bats in the win. Vogel collected three more RBIs, while both Stanford and Thurm went 2-for-2 on the contest. “Dykstra had a great first start offensively and Thurm also swung a hot bat,” said Wede.
Brett Shelton (So., Clive, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) tossed a solid 6.0 inning outing, picking up the win on the bump. He allowed two runs, one earned, on five hits with six strikeouts.
GAME 2: Clarke 12, Northwestern 4
A big second inning proved to be the difference in game two, as the Pride plated six runs to take an 8-0 run after two full innings of play.
The Raiders loudest inning came in the sixth when they plated two runs thanks to an RBI double from Thurm and a Mason Porepp (So. Pleasant Hill, Iowa/Southeast Polk) RBI triple.
Thurm kept hitting well in the second game, again going perfect at the plate (3-for-3) with an RBI and scoring one of the four Raider runs. Cullinan was 1-for-1, working two walks and scoring a run. Jaden Snyder (Jr., Larchwood, Iowa/West Lyon), along with Porepp, also recorded a triple.
Up Next: The Raiders will hit the road for Ottawa, Kan. for two doubleheaders against the (RV) Braves of Ottawa University (3-0, 0-0 KCAC) out of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) next weekend, Friday and Saturday, February 18 and February 19.
