Box Score Bolivar, Mo. – The Southwest Baptist University baseball team picked up a 16-8 victory over Fort Hays State on Thursday afternoon. With the win the Bearcats improve to 11-6 (2-5 MIAA) on the season.

Fort Hays kicked the scoring off in the top of the first, leading the game off with a solo homerun. However, the Bearcats promptly responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning. Caleb Sneed led the inning off with a single through the left side, followed two batters later by a Hunter Hisky single down the left field line. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch before an rbi groundout by Jovany Urbieta and an rbi infield single by Sean Murley gave SBU a 2-1 lead.

After a scoreless top of the second the Bearcats were back at it in the bottom half of the inning. With one out in the inning, back-to-back singles from Clint Jack and Cody Massey put two runners on for Sneed who singled home Jack to extend the Bearcat lead to 3-1. Chance Wolfe then hit an rbi single to left field, followed by an rbi by Hisky as SBU led 5-1 through two innings. FHSU added another solo homerun in the top of the third before the Bearcats tacked on two more in the bottom half of the inning. Murley led the inning off with a walk before a two-run homerun to left field from Nelson Muniz gave the Bearcats a 7-2 lead.

SBU continued to build their lead in the fourth when Wolfe doubled to left field and came home two batters later on an rbi single to center field by Urbieta. The Tigers added five runs over the next inning and a half, cutting the Bearcat lead to 8-7, before SBU exploded for eight runs in the bottom of the sixth.

Sneed led the inning off with a double down the left field line, followed by an infield single from Wolfe to put runners on the corners. Hisky then hit an rbi single to left center, followed by a sacrifice fly from Urbieta to give SBU a 10-7 lead. Murley walked ahead of Muniz who belted his second homerun of the day, a three-run shot to right field extending the lead to 13-7. Back-to-back singles from Jack and Andrew Meier, coupled with a Jack stolen base, put runners on second and third with two outs. Jack advanced home on a wild pitch, and after a Sneed walk, back-to-back rbi single from Wolfe and Hisky gave SBU a 16-7 lead. Fort Hays would tack on another run in the eighth, but the Bearcats would finish off the Tigers 16-8.

On the afternoon Chance Wolfe led the Bearcats with 4 hits, going 4-6, while Hunter Hisky went 3-5 with 3 rbi and Nelson Muniz went 2-5 with 5 rbi and 2 homeruns. Brian Womack picked up the victory, going 5.0 innings while allowing 3 runs to go along with 5 strikeouts.

The Bearcats will return to action on Friday, March 10 for a double-header against Fort Hays State. Opening pitch of game one is set for 11:00 a.m. from Dodson Field in Bolivar.