Baseball Opens Florida Trip With 15-5 Win Over Rockhurst

OVERVIEW – ROCKHURST

SCORES:  Northwood Timberwolves 22, Rockhurst Hawks 5

RECORDS: Northwood 5-5, Rockhurst 2-6

LOCATION: Osceola County Stadium – Kissimmee, Florida

RECAP: Northwood opens their annual trip to Florida with a 15-5 win over regional opponent Rockhurst Thursday afternoon (March 8).

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• Rockhurst got the scoring going with a run in the bottom of the second inning to go 1-0 after two.
• Eight batters into the contest, Northwood had just one base runner. That changed in a big way starting with one out in the third. The Timberwolves plated four runs on three hits in the inning, starting with an RBI single by Ryan McClelland that scored Brian Dombrowski to tie the score.
• David Vinsky then doubled to plate Travis Janes, which was followed by a Javier Martinez sac fly to score McClelland to make it 3-1.
• Northwood finished out the big inning by scoring a run on a throwing error on a pickoff that scored Vinsky.
• The Timberwolves made it 5-1 in the top of the fourth on a Janes RBI single that scored Dombrowski.
• Rockhurst plated a pair in the bottom of the inning, but Northwood came right back with another run in the top of the fifth thanks to a two-out double by Michael Karam to score Martinez to give NU a 6-3 edge.
• Northwood broke things open in the sixth and seven innings, starting with a four-run sixth. Vinsky got an RBI on an error to score Dombrowski to go up 7-3.
• Colin McClelland then earned an RBI on a sac fly to plate Janes before a Martinez two-run double to plate Vinsky and Ryan McClelland that gave Northwood a 10-3 lead.
• After a pair of Hawks runs made it 10-5, the Timberwolves put the game away with a five-run seventh. NU got help from Rockhurst in the inning, as Northwood drew three walks and were hit by two pitches in the frame. Colin McClelland got the scoring started with a bases-loaded walk, followed by Martinez being hit by a pitch to push the edge to 12-5.
• Nick Palmer followed with a two-run single to score Coliln McClelland and Vinsky.
• Karam finished out the scoring with a single to score Martinez to make the advantage 15-5.
• Northwood's bullpen was solid on the day, as Nathan Langenfeld, Thomas Johnston and Billy Blair each tossed a scoreless inning to close out the victory. The trio combined to allow one hit while striking out five.

GAME STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors Northwood: 15/13/3, Rockhurst: 5/11/2
• Runners Left on Base: Northwood: 12, Rockhurst: 11
• Bases on Balls: Northwood 8, Rockhurst 1
• Winning Pitcher: Ian Dimitrie (3-0) 6 IP, 10 H, 5 R (4 ER), 5 K, BB
• Losing Pitcher: PJ Seufert (0-1) 5 IP, 6 H, 6 R (5 ER), 2 K, 2 BB

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Martinez: 1-1, 2 R, 4 RBIs
• Dombrowski: 2-3, 4 R, 2 SB
• Janes: 2-4, 3 R, RBI
• Vinsky: 2-5, 3 R, 2 RBIs
• Karam: 2-5, 2 RBIs

QUOTING COACH JORDAN BISCHEL

• "I thought we did a pretty good job limiting scoring chances on a day where it was easy to score. Ian Dimitrie threw a ton of strikes and did a good job limiting their innings before we broke through."
• "Brian Dombrowkski had a great day for us. He got the offense going and stole a couple of bases. When he has a day like that, it really makes our lineup tough because we are strong at the top."
• "With two games tomorrow, we have to prepare for a long day. We'll need good energy to get through 18 innings – it's not something we see much in our season"

UP NEXT

• Northwood will play a pair of nine-inning games tomorrow – the Timberwolves will take on Cedarville at 10 a.m. before facing Ohio Valley at 1 p.m.