Live Stats | Game 1 Box | Game 2 Box

Emporia, Kan. - The SBU Bearcats baseball team traveled to Emporia, Kansas on Thursday to open up a four game series with the #1 Emporia State Hornets. SBU fought hard throughout both ballgames through solid pitching and timely hitting, but came up short 2-3 in both contests.

SBU saw Jared Berman take the mound for the Bearcats in game one, pitching a complete game by giving up three runs (one earned) on only three hits. Emporia took a 3 nothing lead in the bottom of the second inning off of a couple of costly errors by the Bearcats. SBU will cut the lead to 2-3 by scoring two runs in the top of the sixth off of RBI's by Niko Saladis and Paden Grubbs. Emporia was able to hold of the Bearcats and gain a 3-2 victory in game one of the double-header.

In game two, SBU's starting pitcher, Mike Nicks, pitched a complete game; the second complete game for the Bearcats on the evening. Nicks pitched 8 innings, giving up three runs while only giving up three hits in the contest. SBU got on the scoreboard first, scoring in the top of the first inning off of RBI single by Grubbs. Emporia responded in the bottom half of the first with two runs, to give Emporia a 2-1 lead. SBU was able to fight back in the top of the fourth by tying the game up off of an error by Emporia. Pitching would become dominant over the next four innings before Emporia would break the tie in the bottom of the eight, and come away with a 3-2 victory over SBU. In the loss, Niko Saladis extended his hit streak to 10 games, the highest hit streak for the Bearcats this season.

SBU will be back in action against #1 Emporia State on Friday, March 18 for a double-header with opening pitch at 1:00 p.m. Live stats can be found by clicking the link at the top of the release.