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Western Illinois University Athletics

MBA_NDSU1_Road_FP
WIU Visual Productions Center
6
Winner Western Illinois WIU 11-25, 6-13 Summit
4
North Dakota State NDSU 10-25, 4-15 Summit
Winner
Western Illinois WIU
11-25, 6-13 Summit
6
Final
4
North Dakota State NDSU
10-25, 4-15 Summit
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Western Illinois WIU 0 0 2 2 0 0 2 0 0 6 12 0
North Dakota State NDSU 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 12 2

W: Mortillaro, Joe (3-4) L: David Ernst (1-9) S: Owings, Tyler (5)

Game Recap: Baseball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Western Illinois Takes Series Opener from Bison, 6-4

The Leathernecks collected 12 hits in Fargo, N.D. on Friday (April 24).

FARGO, N.D. - Western Illinois baseball opened its three-game series against North Dakota State with a 6-4 victory on Friday (April 24) at Newman Outdoor Field. 

Jake Moore and Adam McGinnis collected three hits while JJ Reimer went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored in the game behind an energetic dugout.

The win snaps a five-game losing streak and gives Western a two-game lead over NDSU in The Summit League standings. WIU is now 11-25 and 6-13 in The Summit League while the Bison drop to 10-25 and 4-15.

"Our dugout positivity influenced the game tonight. They imposed their will on the game," said head coach Ryan Brownlee following the victory. "For us to come out and play the way we did after the amount of adversity we have faced this year says a lot about our guys. Our seniors are taking charge of the program. We won all three phases of the game tonight, but again, when you have a dugout that is into the game on every pitch you will play well."

North Dakota State grabbed an early lead with two runs in the second inning, but quickly let the Leathernecks back in.

Two Bison errors in the top of the third inning allowed Kendall King and Roman Visintine to reach base with just one out. A single from Moore drove in King and a deep fly ball from Reimer brought in Visintine to tie the game at two.

The Bison reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the third with two singles and a stolen base, but two strikeouts from Joe Mortillaro limited the damage for Western.

WIU responded in the top of the fourth with two more runs, marking the fourth lead change of the game. Mark Garton and McGinnis led the inning off with back-to-back singles. Two wild pitches to Colton Pogue at the plate advanced the runners and then allowed Garton to score. A ground ball from King brought in McGinnis from third. 

In the bottom of the fourth, two hits for NDSU and a pair of wild pitches from Western tied the game yet again.

A two-out rally for the Leathernecks in the top of the seventh gave Western the lead for good. Moore started with a two-out single. The fifth-year senior proceeded to run from first to home on a double from Reimer, who advanced to third on the throw home. Chris Tschida's lone hit of the day was a two-out single to drive in Reimer.

Tyler Owings came on from the bullpen with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and never looked back, earning his fifth save of the season.

Mortillaro (3-4) earned his third win of the season on four runs and 10 hits with six strikeouts in six and two-thirds innings of work. It marks his first win since defeating NDSU on March 27 in Macomb.

Moore ended the game going 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI. McGinnis's three hits mark a season high and match his career high. Brent Turner extended his hitting streak to a career-high eight games in the 12-hit effort, while McGinnis and Pogue each grabbed a stolen base.

The series continues on Saturday (April 25) in Fargo at 1 p.m. Live audio will be available starting 12:50 p.m.   
 





 
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