Ryan Shumaker, Athletic Communications
ALVA, Okla. – The Northwestern Oklahoma State baseball team will hit the road this weekend looking for their first conference series win against East Central University.
The Rangers will make the trip to Ada, Okla. fresh off of a narrow 7-6 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle. The win over the Aggies on Tuesday night represents the third non-conference win in a row for the Rangers. Head coach
Sam Carel and his squad will be looking to get a conference streak going as Northwestern currently sits 10
th in the Great American Conference standings.
Junior
Nathan Kane has stepped up in a big way for the Rangers following a 7-for-10 series at the plate against Southeastern for an offense that currently ranks 11
th in the conference with a .219 team average. Kane's performance over the weekend raised his average to a team-best .375, just ahead of catcher
Arturo Castro, who also performed well in the series with Southeastern, going 5-for-9 to raise his average to .351.
On the mound the Rangers have experienced some inconsistencies in the back-end of the rotation, but junior
Bryce Tomlin has established himself as the top option for pitching coach
Aaron Gilbreath. Tomlin will step on the mound this weekend in Ada after picking up his second win of the season against Southeastern. Tomlin went six innings strong in that win, striking out five batters while allowing just three earned runs.
The Tigers (4-12, 4-5 in GAC) will welcome the Rangers to Ken Turner Field after going 1-2 in both of their past two series against Southwestern Oklahoma State and Southern Arkansas. East Central is headlined by senior Jake Mekeel, who sports the sixth-best batting average in the league at .377. Junior Connor Stevenson has provided some early pop for the Tigers this season with four home runs and a team-leading 12 RBI's.
On the mound the Tigers have featured four different starters that have seen action, highlighted by Brandon Dusenberry who will start the series with a 4.30 ERA despite allowing opponents to hit just .250 against him. The Tiger hurlers sport the fifth-best ERA in the league with a 4.85 number.
Action will get underway beginning on Friday afternoon with a double header set to begin at noon, followed up by another noon first pitch on Saturday.
For all the latest updates and news on Ranger Baseball, follow @NWOSUAthletics on Twitter or visit www.riderangersride.com
