(JOPLIN, Mo., Feb. 17) – The McKendree University baseball team picked up its first win of the 2020 season with a  3-2 victory over Northwest Missouri State University in its final Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association and Great Lakes Valley Conference Crossover.

The Bearcats got on the board first with two runs in the bottom of the second inning with Austin Francis (Dupo, IL/Dupo High School) and Brendan Hostettler (Chatham,IL/Glenwood High School) crossing home plate for McKendree. Then both teams scored a single run in the fifth inning with the Bearcats holding a 3-1 lead heading into the sixth inning. Northwest Missouri State scored another run in the sixth but McKendree held off NMSU to win the game 3-2.

McKendree tallied five hits in the game with three RBIs. Chance Foss (Wood River, IL/Roxana High School) earned one hit and one RBI, Bryce Emery (Harrisburg, IL/Harrisburg High School) collected one hit, Cal Kossina (Millstadt, IL/Belleville West High School), recorded one hit, Hostettler tallies one hit, Jordan Richardson (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon Township High School) earned one hit and one RBI, and then Joseph Copeland (Glen Carbon, IL/Edwardsville High School) collected one RBI for the Bearcats.

Four Bearcats pitched for McKendree in the victory. Andrew Yancik (Glen Carbon, IL/Edwardsville High School) earned the win throwing 99 pitches and earning four strikeouts. Cade Berendt (Germantown, WI/Germantown High School) then took the mound for McKendree throwing for 23 pitches, Connor Gilles (High Ridge, MO/Rockwood Summit High School) pitched saw a short stint on the mount, and then Lucas Vallandingham (Millstadt, IL/Belleville West High School) closed out the game with 26 pitches and two strikeouts.

McKendree will resume action with a four-game series at Rodgers State University in Claremore, Oklahoma. The first game is set for Friday, Feb. 21 with a 2 p.m. start time.