CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Nebraska Wesleyan baseball is moving on. The Prairie Wolves outlasted Luther 6-5 in a back-and-forth A-R-C Tournament elimination game Friday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium advancing to face No. 2 seed Coe with a shot at the championship game on the line.
Brady Bell delivered the game-winning RBI in the ninth and then shut the door on the mound for his record-breaking seventh save of the season, securing NWU's spot in the semifinals. The Prairie Wolves' offense stayed hot, plating runs in five different innings while grinding out 10 hits and eight walks.
How It Happened
NWU struck first with two unearned runs in the opening frame. Aaron Chazin singled, Carter Betts reached on an error which scored Chazin, and Easton Johnson drove in the second run with an RBI single. Jake Gerardis added a solo homer in the fourth, his fourth of the season, to push the lead to 3-2.
Luther answered with another run in the fourth, but NWU kept countering. A wild throw on a fielders choice in the fifth allowed Chazin to score, and Gerardis struck again in the seventh with an RBI single to make it 5-3. Luther tied it in the eighth with a pair of doubles, setting the stage for Bell's heroics.
In the ninth, Duncan Ortega worked a leadoff walk, moved to second on a sac bunt, and scored when Bell ripped a single through the left side. Bell then took the mound in the bottom half, striking out one to lock down the win and break the program's single-season saves record.
Key Stats
- Brady Bell: 2-for-4, RBI (game-winner), save (7th of season, program record)
- Jake Gerardis: 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB
- Aaron Chazin: 2-for-5, 2B, 2 runs
- Trevor Storer: 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 K (no-decision)
- NWU bullpen: 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 K
Up Next
The Prairie Wolves (24-20) face No. 2 seed Coe Saturday at 11:00 a.m. in the ARC semifinals. A win would send NWU to its first conference championship game since 2001.
