Baseball Earns Dramatic 13-11 Win Over Wayne State To Open NCAA Tournament

OVERVIEW –  WAYNE STATE (NCAA MIDWEST REGIONAL TOURNAMENT)

SCORES: No. 5 Northwood Timberwolves 13, No. 4 Wayne State Warriors 11

RECORDS: Northwood (42-17), Wayne State (42-12)

LOCATION: QU Stadium – Quincy, Ill.

RECAP:  Baseball wins a dramatic slugfest Thursday afternoon against Wayne State, posting a comeback 13-11 victory in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday (May 18).

GAME HIGHLIGHTS (NINE INNINGS)

• Wayne State got the big day for the offenses going right away in the first inning, bringing home three runs. A pair of NU errors helped the Warriors along the way, making the score 3-0 after one.
• Northwood got one back in the top of the second, as Caden Duryea came home on a wild pitch.
• The Timberwolves then tied the game in the third inning, scoring on a double play and a wild pitch.
• Northwood took their first lead of the day in the top of the fourth on Blake Salamon's 21st home run of the season. His two-run shot put the Timberwolves on top 5-3.
• The Warriors responded with two in the fourth and one more in the fifth to go back on top 6-5.
• Salamon put the Timberwolves back on top with a two-run double to make the score 7-6.
• Duryea followed with a RBI single to push the advantage to 8-6.
• Wayne State responded right away in the bottom of the sixth with a pair of two-run homers to take a 10-8 lead.
• Continuing his big game, Salamon tied the game with a two-run double to level the score at 10-10.
• The Warriors came right back, plating a two-out run to go back on top 11-10.
• In the ninth, Northwood had two outs with nobody on and was down to their final out when NU put together a dramatic rally. After a double by Myles Beale, Matt Magno came through with a clutch two-run homer down the right field line to give Northwood a 12-11 lead.
• Salamon then followed with his fifth extra-base hit of the game, a solo homer to right center to pushed the NU advantage to 13-11.

GAME STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 13/17/3, Kentucky Wesleyan 11/14/1
• Runners left on base: Northwood 10, Kentucky Wesleyan 10
• Winning Pitcher: Jake Carroll – (2-2): 2 1/3 IP, H, 3 BB, K
• Losing Pitcher: Brennan Cox – (3-1): 2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Salamon: 5-6, 3 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBIs, 4 R
• Magno: 2-5, HR, 3 R, 2 RBIs
• Beale: 3-4, 2B, 3 R, 2 BB
• Duryea: 2-4, 2 R, RBI
• David Jeffers: 2-4

NORTHWOOD NOTES

• Derek Clark broke the Northwood single-season strikeout record in the game. He now has 104 for the season, breaking the old record of 102 by Tyler Jandron in 2017.
• Salamon's seven RBIs also gave him 63 for the season, breaking the old school record of 60. Cole Brooks (2021) and David Vinsky (2017) each held the old record of 60.
• With his 14 total bases today, Salamon broke the school record for total bases in a season. He now has 158, breaking the old record set by David Vinsky (156) in 2017.
• Salamon now has 22 home runs on the season, seven more than any other player in program history.

UP NEXT

• Northwood will take on Quincy Friday (May 19). First pitch is set for 1 p.m. (Eastern Time).