Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
Bolivar, Mo. – The Bearcats split a pair of games against the Northeastern State Riverhawks on Friday afternoon to move their record to 11-19 (5-13 MIAA) on the season. SBU dropped the first one by a final score of 4-2 but bounced back to win the second game 5-0 behind a sensational performance from Dalton Morrow on the mound.

Game 1 Recap
The Riverhawks struck early as they scored three unanswered runs across the first three innings of action. Northeastern State got an unearned run in the top of the 1^st and solo home runs in the top of the 2^nd and 3^rd. While the Riverhawks were scoring, the Bearcat bats were silent as they were sat down in order in the 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd.

In the bottom of the 4^th, the Bearcat offense got on the board thanks to some erratic pitching from the Northeastern State starter Dustin Berrong. With one out, Andrew Meier and Hunter Hisky drew back-to-back walks. Carl Schwettmann was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. After an infield fly, Clint Jack walked to force home a run and close the score to 3-1 Riverhawks.

In the bottom of the 7^th, Patrick Latham broke up Berrong's no hitter but was stranded on second to end the inning. Despite the lack of offensive momentum, SBU starter Elias Czech shined on the mound, mowing down Riverhawk hitters in the 5^th, 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th mostly via the strikeout. Czech exited the game after the 8^th with 12 strikeouts, 2 earned runs, 6 hits, and 3 walks.

In the 9^th, Northeastern State added an unearned insurance to stretch their lead to 4-1. The Bearcats quickly got that run back in the bottom half of the 9^th with a deep solo home run off the bat of Schwettmann. Unfortunately, this was all the offense SBU could generate before dropping the first game 4-2.

Despite his 8 dominant innings, Czech still took the loss (1-1) while Berrong earned the win (5-3). For SBU, Tyler Mathys, Schwettmann, and Latham all tallied a hit with Schwettmann and Jack collecting RBIs.

Game 2 Recap
Neither team could muster any offense to speak of in the first five innings as both starting pitchers sped through the opposing lineups. SBU starting pitcher Dalton Morrow, the reigning MIAA Pitcher of the Week, was especially dominant. 8 of the 15 outs Morrow recorded in his first five innings were via the strikeout.

Morrow continued his prowess on the mound in the 6^th and 7^th by stranding a leadoff double at 2^nd and tallying two more strikeouts in the top of the 6^th. With two outs in the top of the 7^th, Morrow left another Riverhawk runner on 2^nd with another strikeout to end the inning.

The Bearcats finally broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the 7^th in a big way. Meier started the inning with a walk and later advanced to 3^rd on a stolen base and errant throw from the Northeastern State catcher. Hisky followed with a hit by pitch and stolen base to put himself in scoring position. Schwettmann then took advantage of a drawn
in infield and bounced a single up the middle, which sent home Meier and Hisky to put SBU up 2-0. The Bearcats padded their lead with two outs when Don Roethler stroked a RBI single off the right field wall that brought in Schwettmann.

SBU picked up two more runs in the bottom of the 8^th on a long two home run off the bat of Hisky to extend the score to 5-0 in favor of the Bearcats. It was Hisky's 9^th home run of the season. In the top of the 9^th, Morrow finished off his superb performance by collecting his 14^th strikeout of the game and retiring the Riverhawks in order.

With his complete game shutout and career high 14 strikeouts, Morrow improved his record to 6-1 on the year. He also only allowed 3 hits and 2 walks in his 9 innings of work this afternoon. In the batter's box for SBU, Jack had 2 hits in 3 at bats. Schwettmann was 1 for 4 with 2 RBI and a run scored, and Hisky posted a 1 for 3 day with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI.

The Bearcats and Riverhawks will play the rubber match of their series tomorrow at a time to be determined. Stay tuned to sbubearcats.com for a posted start time.