Baseball March 13, 2016

Rangers, Muleriders Split Day One, Rubber Match to Ensue Tomorrow

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Leading Off - Game One
Score: Northwestern 1 – Southern Arkansas 13
Records: NW (7-15, 5-5 GAC) – SAU (13-7, 6-4 GAC)
Location: Paul Trantham Field – Kennedale, Texas

KENNEDALE, Texas. – Game one of the day featured Northwestern Oklahoma State Baseball falling to the Muleriders of Southern Arkansas in the opening game of the series by a final score of 13-1.

At The Dish

Jacob Long led Northwestern on the offensive side as he finished going 2-for-3 in the contest.
Steven Deckard, Greg Carrington, Casey Dickerman and Garrett Douglas all tacked on one hit a piece for the Ranger offensive effort as well.

The K Zone

Zach Postoak started off on the hill for the black-and-red and ended up throwing 1.1 total innings.
Kyle Renbarger came in on relief to pitch 1.2 innings and recorded three strikeouts.
Finally Blake Jones threw the final 3.0 innings of the ballgame only giving up one earned run and struck out two batters.

Game Changer

The defensive game played its role in this contest as the Rangers committed two errors compared to the Muleriders zero which certainly saw a difference in the outcome.

Leading Off - Game Two
Score: Northwestern 4 – Southern Arkansas 0
Records: NW (8-15, 6-5 GAC) – SAU (13-8, 6-5 GAC)
Location: Paul Trantham Field – Kennedale, Texas

KENNEDALE, Texas. – Northwestern Oklahoma State Baseball came out in game two a different team and had success at the plate and on the mound as the Rangers collected six hits and Robert Lawhon pitched a complete game shutout for the victory over Southern Arkansas.

At The Dish

Making up the hits for the visitors in game two were six different batters.
Xyruse Martinez (1-3), Jacob Long (1-3), Thomas Bess (1-1), Tito Montano Jr. (1-3), Garrett Douglas (1-2) and Casey Dickerman (1-2) were the six to have hits in the seven inning contest.

The K Zone

Lawhon was dominant in his outing, pitching all seven innings for the Rangers, earning eight strikeouts, allowing just three hits and one base on balls.
The complete game shutout was his second of the year. His strikeout total of eight on the day lifted his season K count to 41.

Game Changer

Martinez tripled down the right field line to begin game two after which Bess brought him home on a SAC fly to right field, making it 1-0 through an inning.
Lawhon was flawless early on, going three up three down for the first three innings of work before the Muleriders were able to hit more than three batters in an inning.
Bess stole third base in the top of the fourth inning after which he scored on a throwing error by the catcher, making it 2-0 Rangers.
The top of the sixth inning was a big one for the Black-and-Red as Dickerman started things off right with a single. Long was also able to hit a single through the left side of the infield, putting Dickerman on second. Two more singles by both Bess and Montano brought the other two Ranger runs across the plate, making it 4-0 visitors.
The final at bat for the Muleriders was nerve wracking as they were able to load the bases with no outs, but after the last man reached base Lawhon beared down and struck out the last three batters to end the game in shutout fashion.

On Deck
Northwestern Oklahoma State Baseball will take on Southern Arkansas tomorrow, Monday March 14, in the final game of the series in Kennedale, Texas with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.

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

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Players Mentioned

#15 Blake Jones: OF; 5' 11"; Redshirt Sophomore

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

#14 Tito Montano Jr.: INF; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#24 Zach Postoak: RHP; 6' 2"; Senior

#5 Kyle Renbarger: RHP; 6' 1"; Senior

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

#1 Garrett Douglas: OF; 5' 11"; Junior

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

#22 Jacob Long: OF; 5' 10"; Junior

#26 Robert Lawhon: RHP; 6' 3"; Senior

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

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

Players Mentioned

#15 Blake Jones
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Sophomore
: OF

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

#14 Tito Montano Jr.
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: INF

#24 Zach Postoak
: 6' 2"; Senior
: RHP

#5 Kyle Renbarger
: 6' 1"; Senior
: RHP

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

#1 Garrett Douglas
: 5' 11"; Junior
: OF

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

#22 Jacob Long
: 5' 10"; Junior
: OF

#26 Robert Lawhon
: 6' 3"; Senior
: RHP

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

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