Box Score

Leading Off
Score: Arkansas Tech 2 - Northwestern 9
Records: ATU (17-27, 9-19 GAC) - NW (14-30, 11-17 GAC) 
Location: Glass Family Field at Myers Stadium - Alva, Okla.

ALVA, Okla. -- Northwestern Oklahoma State took a step in the right direction Friday night as they made it a step closer to earning a playoff spot in the Great American Conference tournament after the 9-2 dominant performance in game one of the series with Arkansas Tech.

At the Plate

• Three Ranger batters had multi-hit games, but Xyruse Martinez and Colton Krokroskia were the two that had stellar days at the plate, each going 3-for-4 at the dish.
• Thomas Bess was also very good at the plate, going a solid 2-for-4.
• Four other Ranger batters had hits as well, including Garrett Douglas (1-4, 1 RBI), Cooper Stanley (1-2, 2 BB), Tito Montano Jr. (1-4, 2 RBIs) and Jeremy Smith (1-3, HR, 3 RBIs).

The K Zone

• Robert Lawhon earned the start for the Rangers on the night and went eight strong innings, striking out nine and only surrendering two runs on five hits. The strong outing brought Lawhon's strikeout count to 91 on the year, tops in the conference.
• Zach Postoak came on to finish it off in the ninth and was solid as he allowed one runner aboard, but was able to get a double play groundout to finish it off in the end.

Game Changer

• The game was scoreless and a pitcher's duel as well early on, but in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Ranger bats came alive when they scored four.
• Leading off the fifth inning, Stanley drew a walk after which Martinez singled him to second. Two batters later, Smith smashed a home run to left center for the first three runs of the game. The Rangers put another on the board in the fourth on a double by Douglas, scoring Krokroskia.
• The visiting Wonder Boys were able to drive in two runs in the next half inning, but that would be all they could muster for the game.
• Northwestern was back at it again in the bottom of the sixth where the first two batters reached again just like in the fifth, after which ATU made a pitching change. Martinez and Montano were the next two batters and both reached on singles, while Montano's hit scored two baserunners to make the score 6-2. The next big hit for the Rangers came off the bat of Krokroskia who doubled down the left field line scoring three runners for the home team, but was thrown out at third on a near triple. The three-run double would be the final runs scored for the home team.

On Deck

• Northwestern and Arkansas Tech will finish up the series tomorrow with it all on the line. Following the win this evening, Northwestern has now taken a two-game advantage over the Wonder Boys for the final playoff spot in the GAC tournament in a couple weeks.

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