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Western Illinois University Athletics

Baseball
Rachael Keating
1
Northern Colorado UNC 10-32
7
Winner Western Illinois WIU 7-36
Northern Colorado UNC
10-32
1
Final
7
Western Illinois WIU
7-36
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Northern Colorado UNC 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 6 2
Western Illinois WIU 1 2 0 4 0 0 0 0 X 7 8 2

W: Warkentien, Jace (2-6) L: Iain ISDALE (1-5)

Game Recap: Baseball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Warkentien Dominates Bears In Series Opener

Jace Warkentien allowed no earned runs in eight innings to give the Leathernecks game one.

MACOMB, ILL.- Western Illinois baseball (4-15, 6-36) rode a phenomenal pitching performance from Jace Warkentien to defeat the Northern Colorado Bears (6-13, 10-32) by a final score of 7-1. Warkentien tied his career-high with eight innings pitched, allowing just an unearned run, and struck out seven to earn his second victory of the season.
 
Western Illinois had a great start offensively, putting runners on second and third with no outs in the bottom of the first. Nick Mitchell led the inning off with a single, and Dillon Sears was hit by a pitch. After each runner stole a base to advance, Kory Olsen snuck a single into left field to score Mitchell and give the Leathernecks a 1-0 lead.
A pair of errors and a hit by pitch loaded the bases for WIU in the second, giving Olsen another RBI chance. Olsen hit a sharp grounder to first that took a wild hop to bring in two runs on a single to give the Leathernecks a 3-0 lead.
 
Northern Colorado gave Western Illinois a pair of baserunners on a hit by pitch and walk in the third, giving Olsen another at-bat with runners in scoring position. Olsen crushed a ball to dead center, and Northern Colorado's center fielder wasn't able to make the catch up against the wall, leading to a long single to put WIU ahead 4-0. Jack Sievers scored the fifth run of the afternoon on a sacrifice fly to center, but Western Illinois wasn't done yet. A double to left-center from CJ Richmond scored Gage Cruz, and Richmond was brought in on a single to left from Derek Botaletto, capping off a four-run third.
 
Northern Colorado's lone run came in the sixth on a fielding error by Western Illinois. The Bears threatened with baserunners in the seventh and eighth, but the Leatherneck defense kept Northern Colorado off the board the rest of the matchup. Jack Bell sealed the deal with a one-two-three inning of relief in the ninth.
 
Kory Olsen had a career day offensively, driving in a career-high four runs on a three-hit day. Nick Mitchell went 2-4 with a double and tied his career-high with three runs scored. CJ Richmond hit his second double of the season to drive in his seventh run of the year. Derek Botaletto's RBI single gave him his 10th RBI of the season.
 
Western Illinois had a big day stealing bases, finishing with a season-high nine steals. The nine stolen bases were one-off from the most in a game by Western Illinois in program history.
 
Western Illinois concludes the series versus Northern Colorado tomorrow Sunday (May 8) with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium. Fans will want to arrive early to see the senior day celebration beginning at 10:30 a.m.
 
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