Travis Janssen has been able to call himself Northeastern State’s head baseball coach for seven-plus months. But the reality of it finally hit him in the season opener.
“I don’t think it hit me,” Janssen said, “until the first pitch was thrown.”
The RiverHawks began the Janssen regime with a 9-2 victory over rival Central Oklahoma on Friday afternoon. Dan Skelly, who hit a solo home run in the second inning, and Gavin Johnson led the offensive charge with two runs batted in apiece, while Trevor Walch shut down the Bronchos on the mound, hurling five innings of two-hit ball. Walch also struck out six UCO batters before giving way to a NSU bullpen that allowed only one run over the final four innings.
All of that was accomplished on a day where the temperatures hovered around the freezing mark — with the wind chill around 25 degrees — with snow flurries falling periodically.
“I’m not going to complain about the weather,” Janssen said. “We’ve had a pretty darn nice January, which allowed us to play several intrasquad games before the season started.”
The Arctic conditions certainly didn’t dampen Janssen’s mood after winning his first-ever victory as a college skipper.
“It was really exciting,” said Janssen, who joined the RiverHawks after logging time as an assistant at Jacksonville State in Alabama for six years.
“It was very cold, so that kind of put a damper on things. But Friday was still a lot of fun.”
Unlike the 2011 NSU team, the RiverHawks didn’t wait 17 games to get their first win this season. Of course, the Bronchos were charitable in helping NSU improve to 1-0 with six errors.
The RiverHawks capitalized on UCO’s misfortune by plating six unearned runs, including four in the first inning in the season opener.
That’s all Walch needed on the mound.
“He threw really well on opening day,” Janssen said of his junior hurler from Eufaula. “He gave us a chance to build a lead.”
Blake Cantrell wasn’t as fortunate in NSU’s second game of the season, giving up seven runs (all earned) on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings in the RiverHawks’ 14-6 loss to UCO on Sunday. Kevin Blue pulverized NSU with three home runs and six RBIs.
“The score looked lopsided on Sunday, but we had a handful of positives come out of that game,” Janssen said. “Our guys were down 9-0 and showed great character. We eventually got within 11-6 and had the bases loaded with one out. But we just came up short.”
The RiverHawks will be back in action at Rousey Field on Saturday and Sunday against East Central. The doubleheaders on each day are a part of an early-season schedule that has NSU at home for 16 of its first 17 games.
NSU game called off
Northeastern State’s game at Arkansas Tech on Tuesday afternoon in Russellville, Ark., has been postponed. The game was called off on Monday.
The cancellation was due to snowfall amounts at Arkansas Tech’s field. The game in Arkansas will be made up as part of a doubleheader in Tahlequah on April 3.
Sports
Related Photos
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Northeastern State coach Travis Janssen gives signs during the RiverHawks' season opener against Central Oklahoma on Friday. Photos by Ben Johnson
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Northeastern State's Trevor Walch throws a pitch during the RiverHawks' 9-2 win over Central Oklahoma in the season opener on Friday.
Discussion
Janssen’s team now
The RiverHawks, under direction of new manager Travis Janssen, split season-opening series against Central Oklahoma.
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