Bearcats sweep top-ranked Gorillas
ANTHONY CRANE/THE FORUM
Northwest outfielder Frank Gall slides across home plate on Saturday at Bearcat Field.
MARYVILLE, Mo. — Not since 2018 and 2019 have the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats won 20-plus games in back-to-back seasons. The Bearcats have now won 20 games in head coach Tony Jandron’s first two seasons in Maryville. After earning that 20th win Friday, the Bearcats secured a series win over No. 2 Pittsburg State on Saturday with a 2-1 win.
“We try to keep things internal when it comes to standards and expectations, but we prepare to beat the best and they’re one of the better teams in the country for sure,” Jandron said. “But I don’t think anybody’s surprised on our end. It’s just a matter of playing our style and committing to that, and we spend so much time investing in our program. It’s good to see we’re not going to chase anything across the field and the opposing dugout — it’s more so on us. And when we do things right, we know we can beat anybody.”
Holding one of the top teams in the country to one run certainly wasn’t easy for the Bearcats Saturday. Starting pitcher Gage Busby came into the game battling some injuries and walked three batters in the first inning.
The sophomore got through the jam with a strikeout of Landin Midgett before giving way to fellow sophomore Ty Hilsabeck early in the second with two outs and one on in the second inning.
“I knew that I was on call if need be,” Hilsabeck said. “With the people I have behind me, it was about filling up the zone and letting them make a play. It helped with the weather we had today, keeping everything in the ballpark.”
The Northwest offense gave Hilsabeck a little breathing room in the bottom of the second. Jordi Ventura reached on a hit by pitch to open the inning, then moved to second on a Parker Griffith ground out.
Wilmer Jimenez broke the scoreless tie in the next at-bat, lining a ball down the third base line for a double, scoring Ventura. The Gorillas retired the next two batters to keep the score 1-0.
Hilsabeck and Pitt State starter Zach Voss cruised through the middle innings. The first sign of trouble for Hilsabeck came in the top of the sixth.
Pitt State’s Grant Nottlemann opened the frame drawing ball four on a 3-2 count. Midgett then reached on a fielder’s choice error, giving the Gorillas runners on first and second with no outs.
Cooper Wesslund threatened to load the bases, working another full count. But Wesslund’s at-bat was the first of two-straight fly outs forced by Hilsabeck. A Landon Bruce strikeout ended the threat from the Gorillas.
“That’s kind of what we work for,” Hilsabeck said. “I love being able to throw against the best teams at any time. Knowing I have a great defense behind me, if I throw strikes they, they’re going to put it in play and I just have to let the defense handle it for me.”
Hilsabeck pitched 5 1/3 innings, striking out three and holding the Gorillas hitless. The sophomore from Savannah had pitched just under 14 innings coming into Saturday’s game.
“He’s just continued to get better and if you asked him where he was at in the fall and where he’s at now, he’s a different guy,” Jandron said. “That just goes to his preparation and his work and I’m awfully proud of him but not taking credit for him because he’s the one that puts in the work. He’s earned every moment of what he did today.”
Jayme Fritts relieved Hilsabeck in the eighth inning, striking out Nottlemann to open the frame. Midgett line a single to left, but Fritts then forced a fly out from Wesslunder for the second out of the inning.
Pittsburg State tied things up with an Andrew Branson two-out double into left field. Bruce then reached on an error, ending the outing for Fritts. Diego De Santiago walked the first batter he faced in relief before forcing a ground out to keep the game tied at one.
The tie lasted momentarily with a leadoff walk from Frank Gall in the bottom of the eighth. Voss then struck out one of the Bearcats more dangerous batters in Jeremiah Cabuyaban.
Then with one out, John Connors went the opposite direction with a double into the left center gap, scoring Gall and giving Northwest the decisive run.
“At the end of the day, we came through with a key walk from Frank Gall and then I was able to drive him in,” Connors said. “It was just about staying true to myself. I’ve put 20 years into baseball or whatever it’s been and working my tail off. I’m working with our hitting coach, working with our head coach on just trusting my swing and waiting for the right pitch.”
Santiago finished things off in the ninth, moving the Bearcats to 21-9 on the season. Northwest now sits fifth in the MIAA with their 11-5 conference record, four games back of Rogers State and just two games back of Central Missouri who sits in second place.
The Bearcats will host Central Missouri for one game on Tuesday, then travel to Arkansas-Fort Smith for a three-game series starting on Thursday.
“A lot of people worry about the name on the front of the other team’s jersey, but we just focus on us—no competition is too big,” Hilsabeck said.
Northwest 9, Pittsburg State 8
MARYVILLE, Mo. — The Northwest Missouri State Bearcat baseball team swept the Pittsburg State Gorillas on an 11th inning walk off RBI-single from Frank Gall in the final game of the three-game series.
Northwest improved their record 22-9 and 12-5 in the MIAA while Pittsburg State drops their record to 26-6 and 15-6 in the conference. This victory marked the first time Northwest swept Pittsburg State since their series on March 31 to April 2, in 2017.
The Gorillas scored six runs in the second inning, highlighted by Seth Dandridge’s two-RBI single and Isaac Webb’s RBI single. The visitors took a 6-0 lead into the third inning.
Northwest responded in the third with Frank Gall tripling down the right field line and scoring on Jeremiah Cabuyaban’sRBI single. Wilmer Jimenez followed with a single, and Jordi Ventura added an RBI single, bringing the score to 6-2 at the end of the third inning.
In the sixth inning, Northwest narrowed the gap with two runs. Jordi Ventura walked, and Austin Marsh singled, setting up Frank Gall’s two-RBI single to center field. The score stood at 6-4 through the sixth inning.
The seventh inning saw the Gorillas add one more run, but Northwest Missouri State answered with John Connors doubling and driving in a run, making it 7-5 in favor of the Gorillas at the end of the seventh inning.
Northwest surged ahead in the eighth inning with three runs. Wilmer Jimenez’s RBI single and John Connors’ two-RBI double brought Northwest Missouri State to an 8-7 lead through eight innings.
The Gorillas tied the game in the ninth with an RBI single, sending the game into extra innings with the score at 8-8.
In the eleventh inning, Northwest secured the victory. Austin Marsh singled and advanced on a hit by pitch, setting the stage for Frank Gall’s RBI single to center, sealing a 9-8 victory for Northwest Missouri State over the Gorillas.
Logan Brasel started for Northwest Missouri State, pitching 1 2/3 innings but allowed six earned runs on four hits and four walks, striking out one. Bronco Whitt relieved, contributing 1 1/3 innings without giving up a hit, despite walking three batters and hitting one with a pitch. Jeremy Evangelista delivered a strong performance over two innings, allowing only one hit while striking out two and issuing one walk. Micah Diamond and Brock Steggall each pitched 1 1/3 innings with Diamond conceding one earned run on two hits and Steggall allowing three hits but no runs. Diego De Santiago closed with three innings, giving up one earned run on two hits, while maintaining a WHIP of 1.33.
Frank Gall delivered a strong performance with three hits, including a triple, and drove in three runs, contributing two runs scored. Jeremiah Cabuyaban added two hits, one of which was a double, and drove in a run while scoring once. Wilmer Jimenez recorded four hits, stole a base, and contributed an RBI. John Connors tallied three RBIs, hitting two doubles in his two-hit outing.
