LIBERTY, Mo. (Fountain Bluff Sports Complex) -- Bemidji State University baseball forced extra innings and fell on the wrong end of a comeback Sunday afternoon during losses of 7-6 and 8-6. The Beavers fall to 0-8 overall to start their season while the Cardinals improve to 4-0.

Game Three – William Jewell, 7-6
During the second at-bat of the game, senior Sam Kalberer sent out a solo home run to give BSU a quick 1-0 lead. WJC came back with two runs in the bottom of the first inning before adding a third in the second inning and fourth in the fourth.

Senior Parker Borg led off the top of the sixth inning with a solo home run, the first of two on the day, to start a three-run inning for the Beavers. The next two batters reached base to set up a score on a wild pitch to bring BSU within one run, 4-3. Junior Derek Dolezal then hit an RBI single down the left field line to tie the game, 4-4.

Following two runs from the Cardinals in the bottom of the sixth inning, BSU put on its first two batters of the seventh who were eventually brought home on a two-RBI single by junior Kyle Ellis to tie the game, 6-6. The game-tying runs pushed the opening game to extra innings when WJC scored on a walk-off double in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Ellis went 2-for-4 from the plate with two RBI and one run while Kalberer finished 2-of-3 with one RBI, one run and one walk. Junior pitcher Christian Turner (0-1) took the loss after throwing the final 3.0 innings with one walk, four hits and one earned run allowed.

Game Four – William Jewell, 8-6
The Cardinals struck first in the final game of the series with a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning followed by three runs in a five-hit second inning.

Facing a 4-0 deficit in the top of the third inning, BSU put runners on second and third base with one out and scored on back-to-back at-bats. Kalberer drove in a run on a force out while Borg hit his second home run of the day, a two-run dinger to bring BSU within one run, 4-3.

BSU tied the game in the fourth inning after the first two at-bats as junior Michael O'Malley scored on a wild pitch. An RBI groundout by junior John Perkins and an RBI single by freshman Hunter Daymond pushed the Beavers lead to two, 6-4. WJC took the final lead of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning with four runs on four hits, including three two-out runs.

The Beavers recorded three hits over the final three innings, including two in the seventh inning. Kalberer singled to lead off the seventh inning before O'Malley singled with two outs to put runners on first and second base. A fly out ended the game to give the Cardinals the series sweep.

Daymond went 2-of-4 from the plate with one RBI and one run while Kalberer went 2-of-4 with one RBI. Borg led BSU with two RBI on his third-inning home run. Freshman pitcher Jacob Marx (0-1) took the loss after throwing 0.2 innings and giving up four earned runs on four hits and one walk. Junior pitcher Jake Matise threw the final 2.0 innings with three strikeouts, two hits, one walk and no earned runs.

Bemidji State travels for its spring trip March 6-11, facing five programs for six games at the Tucson Invitational Games in Tucson, Ariz.

For more information on the Bemidji State athletic programs, tickets or schedules, visit BSUBeavers.com, follow the Beavers on Twitter (@BSUBeavers), or like them on Facebook (facebook.com/BSUBeavers).

Nestled in Northern Minnesota's wooded region and located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University sponsors 15 varsity athletic programs with NCAA Division I men's and women's hockey membership in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while its 13 NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).

--bsu--