RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - Northwestern took the road this weekend to take on the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys, but came up empty on the weekend, following two tough losses on Saturday, 9-3, 9-2.
Four Ranger batters took aim on the afternoon, hitting .500 or better, as
Nathan Kane (.500),
Steven Deckard (.600),
Arturo Castro (.667) and
Colton Krokroskia (1.000) were the visitor players to have lots of success at the plate.
Game One
Starting on the hill for the Rangers in game one of the second day was freshman,
Nick Llorente who went 5.2 innings, recording five strikeouts, but surrendered six runs as well. The Wonder Boys were solid at the plate in the first of the twin bill, collecting 12 hits off the four Ranger pitchers.
Northwestern was the first team to strike in game one, plating two runs on a
Garrett Douglas single, bringing around Castro and Deckard. The timely single would give the visitors their first lead of the series.
The lead wouldn't last long however as ATU would find the plate twice in the bottom half of the third on a double and a walked in run.
The Rangers wouldn't go away quietly however as they would take the advantage again following a Deckard homer to left field, his first of the season.
That would unfortunately end the scoring for the visiting team in the contest.
The Wonder Boys would tie it up in the bottom of the fourth, but would pull away in the sixth and the lead would climb from there, and finish at 9-3 in favor of the home team.
Game Two
The second game of the day, and third of the series was a tough one for the Rangers as the Arkansas Tech pitching staff overpowered the visitor bats, allowing just four hits and two runs in the game.
Matthew Bickford was given the start in game three of the series, pitching four and one-third innings, but unfortunately came away with his first loss of the season.
Sean Rydell and Nesseralla were the two to come on in relief.
Four different batters earned base hits in the game, as Deckard was 1-for-1, while Kane was 1-for-2, and
Colton Krokroskia and
Jorin Van Amstel went 1-for-1 and 1-for-3 respectively.
Arkansas Tech started off the scoring in the game in the first inning, but wasn't able to plate any more until the fifth inning.
Again the game looked like it could go either way as the Rangers tied it back up at one apiece, on a passed ball that scored Douglas from third.
The tie ballgame would dissipate quickly however as ATU put six more on the board in the fifth, making it a six-run lead, 7-1.
The Black-and-Red would gain one more run on a
Quincy Tunstall score, but that wouldn't turn out to be enough, as the Rangers fell by a score of 9-2.
UP NEXT
Northwestern will take a slight break from conference play when Fort Hays State comes to town on Tuesday, Feb. 28 for a 3 p.m. first pitch. The Rangers currently lead the season series with the Tigers, 2-0 and will be looking to extend it.
