Baseball battles back from early deficit, but falls 10-9 to Washington (Mo.) in Game 1 of the NCAA III Regional Tournament

ADRIAN, Mich. — Ohio Northern battled back from an early 7-2 deficit, but eventually fell 10-9 to Washington (Mo.) in the opening game of the NCAA III Adrian Regional Tournament on a warm and sunny Friday afternoon.

| NCAA III Regionals site |

The Basics

• Records: Ohio Northern (29-13 Overall), Washington (26-15 Overall).
• Venue: Nicolay Field - Adrian, Mich.

Game Highlights

• WU took advantage of four Polar Bear errors to score five unearned runs and take a 7-2 lead after four innings.
• But the Polar Bears battled back with two runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh to get within 9-6 heading into the top of the ninth.
• Sophomore Evan Russ (Westfield, Ind.), senior Andrew Stechschulte (Findlay) and junior Robbie Reed (Goshen, Ky./Trinity) all had RBI hits in the top of the ninth to complete the comeback and tie the game at 9-all.
• But the Bears would get the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth off a single off the wall in left field that led to a bang-bang play at the plate to win 10-9.
• Russ finished the day 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBI to lead Ohio Northern's 15-hit attack.
• Sophomore Devon Morris (Archbold) was 3-for-5 with three runs scored and a double.
• Sophomore Kyle Callahan (Brunswick) was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI.
• Reed was 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored.
• The two teams combined for 30 base hits and left a combined 23 runners on base in the slugfest.

Notables

• This is ONU's first appearance in the NCAA III Tournament since 1995 and its tenth overall.
• The Polar Bears now have a 13-20 overall record in the NCAA Tournament.
• Ohio Northern won the Regional title and advanced to the NCAA Division II World Series in 1974 as a Division III member.
• Ohio Northern now trails the all-time series with Washington by 1-0 margin.
• Through 42 games this season, senior Elliott Veenstra (Findlay/Liberty-Benton) leads the Polar Bears with a .345 batting average, going 41-for-119 with 28 RBI.
• Junior Chase Armstrong (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) has seven home runs and a team-best 39 RBI this season.
• Ohio Northern is in its 120th season of baseball. The Polar Bears are 1495-1164-20 all-time, a winning percentage of .562.
• 14th-year head coach Gene Stechschulte is now 307-219 at Ohio Northern for a winning percentage of .584.

Up Next

• The Polar Bears will move to Game 3 on Saturday to face either No. 3 Wisconsin-Whitewater or Adrian (Mich.) at 11 am.