Box Score Kearney, Neb. – Senior right hander
Ross Mortensen threw five scoreless innings and the Nebraska Kearney baseball team made two late defensive plays to hold off Midland University, 11-10, Tuesday afternoon at Memorial Field.
This non-conference game was added to the schedule this week. UNK improves to 12-7 while the NAIA Warriors fall to 8-11.
Kearney used 14 hits and took advantage of five errors to build an 11-0 lead after five innings. However, Midland threw up a seven spot in the seventh and scored two more times in the eighth to make things very interesting.
With two down and runners and first and second in the Warrior eighth, pinch hitter Tucker Young hit a hot shot that likely would've tied the game. But, UNK junior 1b
Connor Messinger (Niwot, Colo.) snagged the line drive to keep the score 11-10.
In the top of the ninth, right fielder Dylan Steyer (3 for 5, two RBI's) led off and hit a ball that was caught by a diving
Brent Kirsch (Papillion) in right. Loper closer
Joe Smidt (North Platte) got two of the next three Warriors to ground out to record his fifth save.
Mortensen (Colo. Springs, Colo.), making his fourth start of 2015, struck out six and walked only one in shutting down Midland for the first five innings. Improving to 2-2, he allowed just three singles.
UNK, scoring eight unearned runs, was active early as they tallied four in the first and three more in the second. Through 19 games, 35% of the Lopers total runs have come in the first or second innings.
Junior DH
Kyle Honeycutt (3 for 4) belted a two-run homer to right in the first with junior RF
Anthony Pacheco (2 for 2, two RBI's) having an RBI double in the second. The Lopers continued to pour it on as a four-run fifth included a two-run double off the bat of redshirt freshman 3b
Josh Estrada (Pasadena, Texas).
Midland's seven-run seventh included a two-run single by Steyer that saw him and a teammate also score on the play as the ball got past a Loper outfielder and rolled all the way to the wall. Six of the runs in this big inning came after two were out.
UNK is at NW Missouri State this weekend
