Baseball February 12, 2016

Rangers Earn Two Straight Wins Over Northeastern State

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Leading Off
Score: Game 1 (NSU 0 - NW 2), Game 2 (NSU 5 - NW 6)
Records: NSU 4-2 - NW 2-4
Location: Glass Family Field at Myers Stadium - Alva, Okla.

ALVA, Okla. - The Northwestern Oklahoma State Baseball team started off hot at home with two wins over Northeastern State to go 2-0 on opening day in Alva.

At the Plate

Two Rangers had big days at the plate as Alexis Torres and Casey Dickerman both went 3-for-7 for a .429 average.
Helping Northwestern to a .278 average on the day were three Rangers who hit .333 with Matt Benn, Thomas Bess and Greg Carrington all having good days at the plate.
Xyruse Martinez came up in a big way at the plate going .286, including the walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth in game two against the RiverHawks.
Not only did the Black-and-Red hit well, but they also had a collective on-base percentage (OBP) of .355 on the day.

The K Zone

The two Ranger starters on the day both had solid outings as Walker Wharton and Matt Bickford went five innings plus in each start.
Wharton gave up just six hits on the outing, while striking out four. He didn't give up any extra base hits, leading the Black-and-Red to the 2-0 shutout.
Northwestern closer, Jon Bauer had a big night as he spared Wharton in game one, earning the save, and then claiming the victory in the second game.
Bickford only allowed three hits during his start as well as just three runs. Like Wharton, Bickford also had a four strikeout outing.
Senior southpaw Brody Ausfahl was big in game two as he was able to get the Rangers out of a jam earning two K's in two innings.
Reliever, Stetson Buller Jr. was incredible in his one appearance as he pitched an entire inning and sitting down all three RiverHawk batters he faced, fanning each of them.

Game Changer

The fourth inning was where game one was won as the Rangers were able to gain a couple walks as well as some timely hits, leading them to a much needed 2-0 win.
The bats were a little more alive in the second contest for both squads as Northwestern was able to collect nine hits while the visiting RiverHawks posted eight of their own.
NSU put up two runs in the second and another in the third, while blanking the home team until the sixth inning. The offense Northwestern was looking for showed up in the bottom of the sixth inning as three straight batters made it on board. The NSU pitching staff brought in the first run for the Rangers as they walked Steven Deckard. The walk was followed by an error and a double, putting the hosts on the high side.
Northeastern State was able to put up a couple runs in the top of the ninth, but the hope was dashed in the bottom half of the inning as Martinez struck a solid liner through the left side of the infield, scoring Carrington from second.

On Deck

Next up on the docket for Northwestern will be West Texas A&M, which will be played tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m.

For the latest information and updates on Ranger Baseball, follow @NWOSUAthletics on Twitter or go to www.riderangersride.com.

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Players Mentioned

#31 Brody Ausfahl: LHP; 5' 10"; Senior

#21 Matt Benn: INF/OF; 6' 2"; Senior

#13 Stetson Buller Jr.: RHP/OF; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#8 Xyruse Martinez: INF/RHP; 5' 11"; Junior

#23 Alexis Torres: OF; 6' 2"; Senior

#9 Casey Dickerman: INF; 6' 0"; Junior

#17 Greg Carrington: OF; 5' 10"; Freshman

#46 Steven Deckard: INF; 6' 1"; Freshman

#18 Thomas Bess: OF; 5' 11"; Graduate Student

#10 Walker Wharton: LHP; 6' 2"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#31 Brody Ausfahl
: 5' 10"; Senior
: LHP

#21 Matt Benn
: 6' 2"; Senior
: INF/OF

#13 Stetson Buller Jr.
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: RHP/OF

#8 Xyruse Martinez
: 5' 11"; Junior
: INF/RHP

#23 Alexis Torres
: 6' 2"; Senior
: OF

#9 Casey Dickerman
: 6' 0"; Junior
: INF

#17 Greg Carrington
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: OF

#46 Steven Deckard
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: INF

#18 Thomas Bess
: 5' 11"; Graduate Student
: OF

#10 Walker Wharton
: 6' 2"; Junior
: LHP