Liberty, Mo. – The Northern State University baseball team, took the 2-0 series lead over William Jewell on Saturday afternoon with a 17-9 win on the road. The Wolves are now on a 3-game win streak, improving to 7-4 this season.
The Cardinals scored first in the bottom of the second with two runs off NSU starter
Louie Carlos. The lead however did not last long, as the Wolves tied things at 2-all in the top of the next half inning.
Ben Carolin kicked of the rally in the top of the third with a 2-out single to left.
Tyler Gripentrog followed with a single of his own, advancing Carolin to second and leaving two runners on base for
Jack Schmidt. Schmidt connected for a hard hit ball, scoring Carolin on contact and also plating Gripentrog on an error by the centerfielder.
William Jewell answered in the fourth with two runs of their own, but the Wolves were not done yet as they put of a 10-spot in the top of the fifth inning securing the lead and the win. Northern busted out ten runs on six hits in the inning with
Patrick Leary,
Zach Beatty, Carolin, Gripentrog, Schmidt, and
Lucas Lorenz each stepping to the plate twice. Despite a 5-run rally by the Cardinals in the sixth and seventh, Northern lengthened their lead with five more runs in the final two innings.
Carolin, Schmidt, and Lorenz led the Northern State offense with three hits each in the win. Lorenz knocked out a team leading six RBI with two doubles and a triple, while Schmidt tallied three RBI and two runs scored. Carolin led the team with four runs scored, followed by Gripentrog with three, and Lorenz,
Ben Allen, and Beatty with two each. Gripentrog, Beatty, and
Seth Sullwold each record multiple hit games as well, with two on the day, while Allen rounded out the team total with a single in the fifth.
Carlos started on the hill for the Wolves, throwing 3.2 innings with four earned runs on six hits and two strikeouts.
Thomas Sertic entered in the fourth, throwing 2.1 innings and recording his second win of the season. Sertic gave up just two runs on four hits.
Sam Krapf,
Nate Zeise, and
Luke Chevalier entered, throwing the final three innings of relief. Chevalier notched a team leading three strikeouts, while Zeise held the Cardinals scoreless.
Northern returns to the diamond tomorrow, closing out the weekend series with a 12 p.m. contest against the Cardinals. The Wolves will then open NSIC play next weekend as they travel to Upper Iowa for a 4-game series in Fayette.
