CANYON, Texas - West Texas A&M pitching mowed down the Ranger lineup on Friday night, handing Northwestern (2-4, 0-0 GAC) their third straight loss. Buffaloes pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts while holding the Rangers to just one hit and two walks in an 8-0 shutout. 

Brandon Colbert, making his second start in a Ranger uniform, threw six innings in the road loss. The 6'2 transfer from Northeast Texas CC looked sharp in the early going, as he had a clean first inning with two strikeouts. His second inning looked as though it was headed in the same direction, but a two-out single by Hunter Henderson started a rally leading to two West Texas runs.

The Buffs sent senior Josh Payne to the hill and he made his presence felt right from the get-go, sitting down the first three Ranger batters on strikes. 

Colbert found himself in some trouble in the 3rd when he followed up an error from third baseman Jorin Van Amstel with a wild pitch, leading to a runner on third with just one out. Colbert got the next batter to hit one on the ground to shortstop TJ Kassner, who gunned down Jimmy Cubillos at the plate to keep the deficit at two. 

But Payne managed to keep the Rangers at bay, striking out the side for the second time in the 4th inning. He would take a no-hitter all the way into the 6th that was eventually broken up by the speedy Garrett Douglas, who lined one up the middle for the Rangers first and only hit of the ballgame. 

Colbert would exit the game after the 6th with the Buffs leading 5-0, giving way to Massachusetts native Matthew Bickford. Bickford was roughed up in his one plus innings of work, allowing three earned runs on four hits with three free passes.

Northwestern's bats struggled to gain any momentum in this one, as they stranded the only four base-runners that a strong West Texas A&M pitching staff allowed.  

Up Next

Sam Carel will go to freshman right-hander Nick Llorente in the series finale, which wraps up Saturday at 4 p.m. in Canyon. Llorente impressed in his collegiate debut last weekend vs Northwest Missouri State, throwing five innings of no-hit baseball against a potent Bearcat lineup. 

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