SEWARD, Neb. – The Northwestern College baseball team (10-12, 2-4 GPAC) opened a four-game set with Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) preseason favorites, the Bulldogs of Concordia University (Neb.) (17-6-1, 6-0 GPAC), dropping both games 4-3 to open the series.
GAME 1: Concordia 4, Northwestern 3 (F/7)
Northwestern outhit Concordia in Game 1, 6-5, but it was two long balls that plated three Bulldog runs that gave the Bulldogs the series opening win. Eli Rash (So., Lake Lotawana, Mo./Summit Christian Academy) was the only Raider with multiple hits on the game, going 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Stanford doubled to left field in the third to score Rash, to start the scoring for either side in the first game. Concordia put up a three-run fifth inning to take a 3-1 lead, getting their first run in the fourth to take a 4-1 lead. Colby Shelton (Fr., Urbandale, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) singled in the sixth inning to score Stanford, cutting the Bulldog lead in half at 4-2.
Down two entering the final frame, the Raiders took advantage of the fourth Bulldog error as Jaden Snyder (Jr., Larchwood, Iowa/West Lyon) wound up on third as the baseball ended up down the right field line. Snyder would score on an RBI ground out, to make it 4-3. Rash would single to keep the late inning magic alive for Northwestern, but a strike out and a caught stealing would end the game as the Raiders would drop the opening game of the series 4-3.
Rash led the offense with his two hits. Drew Dykstra (Fr., Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale), Sam Stanford (So., Los Angeles, Calif./Pacifica Christian), and Shelton all drove in a run in the game. The Raiders left six runners on base to Concordia’s two.
Brett Shelton (So., Clive, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) went 6.0 solid innings on the day, striking out five Bulldog hitters and allowing just five hits. He gave up four runs, three via the two home runs.
GAME 2: Concordia 4, Concordia 3 (F/7)
The Bulldogs prevailed with another 4-3 win in Game 2, this time in walk-off fashion as the Raiders would leave 11 runners on base in the nightcap.
The Raiders struck first in Game 2 as well with a run in the first. Dykstra began the game with a walk and would come around to score on an RBI single from Stanford.
Concordia put up three runs in the second to take the 3-1 lead. Northwestern responded with a run of their own again in the third as Kip Cullinan (Jr., Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) would be driven in by Stanford, after reaching on a single to start the frame. The Bulldogs would hold the 3-2 advantage heading to the bottom half of the third.
In the sixth inning, Jacob Kindhart (Jr., Shawnee, Kan./St. James Academy) started the frame with a walk. Tanner Schouten (Fr., Orange City, Iowa/Unity Christian) came into courtesy run and would advance to second on a passed ball with nobody out. An infield single from Evan Olesen (So., Estherville, Iowa/Estherville Lincoln Central) would put runners on first and third, the best chance the Raiders had to score since the third inning. A wild pitch would allow Schouten to score to the game at 3-3, but that’s all the Raiders would push across.
The Bulldogs would threaten in the bottom half of the sixth, as Concordia would get runners on second and third with one out, but Colton Schuchart (Fr., Jourdanton, Texas/Jourdanton) would slam the door shut with back-to-back strike outs to get out of the inning without surrendering a run.
Northwestern loads the bases in the seventh but can’t push across any runs. Concordia would start the bottom half of the seventh with a double to centerfield. Schuchart would punch out back-to-back hitters, but a check-swing single just out of the reach Rash’s glove at short and the Bulldogs took Game 2 in walk-off fashion.
Stanford paced the Northwestern offense, driving in the first two runs of the game, going 1-for-3 on the game. Cullinan picked up two hits on the game, walking once and scoring one run.
Brady Roberts (Jr., Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) got the nod in game two this evening, throwing 4.0 innings for the Raiders in a solid outing. He gave three runs on just two Bulldog hits, striking out six and walking four. In relief, Brad Tornow (So., Washington, Iowa/Mid-Prairie) tossed a scoreless inning for the Raiders, striking out two of the four batters he faced.
Schuchart would enter to throw for Northwestern in the sixth inning with the game tied up at 3-3. He would come up clutch for the Raiders, tossing 1.2 innings and picking up four huge strike outs. He gave up only two hits, but unfortunately the second hit surrendered scored the game-winning run.
Up Next: The Raiders will wrap up the four-game set with the Bulldogs with another doubleheader (7 & 9 inning contests) tomorrow from Plum Creek Park in Seward, Neb.
