Cougar baseball defeats NIACC in weekend series

Cougar baseball secured their first series win of the season April 25 and 26 when they hosted the North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) Trojans.

GAME ONE

Trojan pitcher Brady McPherson dominated the NICC lineup, going five innings, allowing one run and not allowing a hit. He was pulled in the bottom of the sixth inning for Ian Harlow. Jake Schmidt and Nico Olszewski welcomed Harlow to the game by hitting back-to-back home runs in the first two at-bats to trim the Trojan lead to 4-3. Jack Terpstra stretched the lead back to two with a home run in the top of the seventh, and Tyler Rosenow shut down the Cougars for the save, 5-3.

Game one performers:
Jack Fenwick - 7 IP, 5 SO
Schmidt - HR
Olszewski - HR

GAME TWO

After the game went scoreless in the first inning, NICC exploded for nine runs over the next three frames, holding a 9-3 lead going to the bottom of the eighth. Andrew Rottinghaus blasted a home run to make it 10-3 as the game moved to the ninth. Austin Goodrich was great in relief but did get knocked around a little allowing three NIACC runs to come in, but NICC was able to hold onto the lead and win 10-6.

Game two performers:
Rottinghaus - HR, 3 RBI
Logan Lesser - 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 SO
Austin Goodrich - 3.2, 3 ER

GAME THREE

The offense stayed hot for the Cougars in game three. Some great defense and pitching by Dylan Recker held NIACC scoreless for the first three innings. In the bottom of that frame, NICC pushed seven across home plate. A few Trojan errors and one long home run by Damin Churchman highlighted the inning. NIACC would score the next six runs of the game, and the score was 8-6 as the Cougars came to bat in the sixth. Singles by Jacob Austin, Tanner Bahl, Schmidt and a Goodrich double all brought in runs, pushing the lead to 14-6. Chuchman added another long ball and Schmidt a single, and NICC won the game by run rule 17-7.

Game three performers:
Churchman - 2 HR, 4 RBI
Schmidt - 3 H, 2 RBI
Recker - 5 IP, 4 ER