Orange City, Iowa — Eli Rash hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift Northwestern to a 4-3 extra-inning win over 20th-ranked Concordia in game two of GPAC doubleheader played tonight in Orange City, Iowa. The Raiders salvaged a split against the GPAC-leading Bulldogs, coming back to win the nightcap after a 16-0 loss in game one.
Tied at three heading into the bottom of the 11th, Colton Harold reached base on an error by Concordia and advanced to third on a single from Kip Cullinan. Following a pitching change, Rash drove a 1-1 pitch into left field, scoring Harold and sending the Northwestern dugout into a frenzy.
Rash’s heroics were not limited to the 11th as the freshman shortstop tied the game at three with a two-run single in the bottom of the seventh off Concordia reliever Cale Matthison.
Northwestern outhit the Bulldogs 13-7, 12 singles and a double by Evan Olesen, and did not commit an error compared to two by the visitors. Rash went 2-for-5 with three RBI while Cullinan totaled a game-high three hits, going 3-for-4 with a run scored. Both Harold and Olesen also had two hits as well.
Brett Shelton (4-3) earned is fourth win of the season, going the final seven innings and limiting the GPAC’s top offense to five hits and two runs. Shelton came on in relief of starter Dylan Kirkeby, who allowed just two hits and one run in four innings.
Northwestern fell behind 3-0 after Concordia pushed one run across in the second and two more in the fifth. Beau Dorman had the key Bulldogs hit, a two-out, two-run double that scored Carlos Benavides and Jakob Faulk.
The Raiders scored their first run off a single from Cullinan, a walk to Rash and a Concordia error on a ball hit by Sam Stanford.
Shane Whittaker (4-1), the fifth of six Concordia pitchers, took the loss, giving up six hits and one run in 3.2 innings.
Faulk and Benavides were the lone Concordia players with multiple hits, both going 2-for-3 at the plate.
