EDMOND, Okla. -- Blaze Brothers delivered the go-ahead two-run double in the bottom of the seventh inning at the Northeastern State University baseball team scored three runs in the decisive frame to take a 7-4 victory over Pittsburg State University Thursday (May 12) in the 2022 MIAA Baseball Championship.

The win sends the No. 2 seed RiverHawks (37-14) into Friday's winner's bracket against fifth-seeded Washburn University, a 15-13 upset winner over top-seeded University of Central Missouri Thursday. The No. 3 seed Gorillas will face the Mules (39-7) in an elimination game at 3 p.m. Friday.

Pitt State (31-20) jumped out to an early 3-0 lead against NSU. The Gorillas scored two runs in the top of the first inning on an RBI double by Caleb Carr and a sacrifice fly by Jordan Maxson. Braeden Hinton added a run-scoring single in the top of the second inning.

The RiverHawks countered with two runs in the bottom of the second against Pitt State starter Ben Des Rosiers. After the Gorillas pushed their margin to 4-2 on Austin Bonnel's RBI grounder in the top of the fourth, NSU tacked on two runs in the bottom of the frame to knot the score at 4-4.

Neither squad scored again until Brothers delivered the go-ahead hit in the seventh. The Gorillas stranded base runners in the fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings.

Bell Cohen (4-0) limited Pitt State to one hit over 2.1 innings of relief work to earn the win and Jake Bigham recorded the final three outs to register his seventh save of the season.

Bennett Scherer (3-1) took the loss for Pitt State. He surrendered two runs in 3.0 innings of work.