The Briar Cliff baseball team dropped two games to Northwestern on Saturday afternoon at Bishop Mueller Complex.
"Baseball is extremely frustrating at times", said head coach Corby McGlauflin. "We need to take a long look in the mirror and figure out how to right the ship!"
The Chargers now hold a record of 12-10 and are 0-6 in GPAC play.
Game 1 – L, 2-4
After the Charger defense went three-up three-down in the top of the first inning, the Cliff hopped on the board first in the bottom of the frame. Following an opening double to right field from Trey Rogers, Connor Lange roped an RBI double to left field to give the Chargers the early 1-0 advantage.
Northwestern fought right back in the top of the second with a run of their own. Mo Watson drew a one-out walk and advanced all the way to third base on back-to-back wild pitches. Sam Stanford carded an RBI ground out to even the score at 1-1.
NWC added another run in the top of the third. After a one-out walk, Ethan Bucker put himself into scoring position by stealing second. Kip Cullinan then tallied an RBI single to right field to give the Red Raiders the 2-1 lead.
The Charger batters couldn't find the timely hit as Northwestern pushed another run across in the fourth. Stanford lined a double to center field and was driven in by an RBI single from Colby Shelton to extend the Raiders' lead to 3-1.
BC crawled back with one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Quentin Evers singled to lead off the frame and was followed by a walk from Jake Chronic. Cyler Melvin flew out to center field, but it was deep enough for Evers to tag up and advance to third. On a passed ball, the Cliff scored to inch closer at 2-3 heading into the fifth.
NWC retaliated with one run on three hits in the fifth inning to push the lead to 4-2. Brett Sitzmann and the Charger defense managed to evade more damage as they recorded a fly out and ground out to end the frame.
Both teams were kept out of the run column for the remainder of the contest, ending the game 4-2 in favor of Northwestern.
The Cliff tallied two runs on four hits in game one. Four Chargers tallied hits and Lange was the only one to card an RBI.
Sitzmann, the starting pitcher for BC, went 5.0 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and tallied one strikeout. Carter Schorg appeared in the final 2.0 innings, allowing only one hit and striking out three.
Game 2 – L, 6-8
After a scoreless first inning, Northwestern found the first three runs of game two in the top of the second. The Raiders tallied two hits, while the Charger defense committed two errors to give NWC the 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the second, Chronic, Cyler Melvin and Easton Cone all drew walks to load the bases with Walter Hunt due up. Hunt found the first big swing of the day, sending a grand slam home run over the left field wall to give the momentum and the 4-3 lead to BC.
Following three scoreless innings, NWC carded three more runs in the top of the sixth. The Red Raiders tallied three runs on four hits to give them put the Chargers in a two-run deficit. Evan Olesen opened the frame with a single to left field and was immediately driven in by a two-run homer by Kip Cullinan. The Raiders found one more timely RBI single before ending the frame.
NWC expanded their lead once again in the seventh as Cullinan tallied an RBI double to grant them the 7-4 advantage. The Raiders added on more run in the top of the ninth off the bat of Jacob Kindhart, who tallied an RBI sacrifice flyout to push the lead to four runs.
In a come-from-behind effort, Briar Cliff carded four hits in the final half inning. With two outs, Rogers found a hit through the right side of the infield and was followed by a two-run big fly from Riemer. Lange and Evers both carded hits, but it was not enough as BC fell 6-8 in game two.
Riemer and Evers led the way for the Chargers with two hits apiece. Hunt and Riemer each tallied home runs and paced the Cliff with four and two RBIs, respectively. Four other Chargers carded hits in the contest.
Matthew Hmielewski started game two on the bump for BC. Hmielewski went 5.1 innings, allowing four runs on six hits, while striking out four. Rylan Aamold chucked for 2.2 innings where he allowed two runs on three hits and struck out two.
The Chargers continue GPAC play when they host Northwestern in a make-up doubleheader on Monday at Bishop Mueller Complex. Game one is set to begin at 1 p.m.
#BattleOn
