The North Central Missouri College Pirates, on the strength of a 5-1 victory in the back-end of a Thursday afternoon doubleheader at Burleigh Grimes Field, earned a split against the #5 ranked team in the nation, Crowder College.
Pitching was the story in the late afternoon for the Pirates, as Trae Brownell held the ‘Riders to just one hit over six innings, before Blake Collister slammed the door on the visitors with three innings of hit-less, scoreless relief.
Assistant Coach Ryan Suttenfield remarked, “You have to be excited about the way Trae and Blake threw the ball. That, plus outstanding defense, were our keys to success today”.
The Pirate offense missed ample scoring opportunities to score in the game, putting up 14 hits, including the game-winning hit in a 3 for 4 effort from Dennis Pogue. Derek Hussey, Brendly Martina, Jared Fry, and Deric Killday also added two hits apiece.
