ALVA, Okla. – The Northwestern Oklahoma State Baseball team will hit the road this weekend for a Great American Conference series against Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma. The Crimson Storm (3-30, 3-18 GAC) have had a disappointing season to date, but have managed to steal games from quality opponents in conference play.
The Rangers (8-26, 3-18) will be looking to take advantage of the Storm this weekend in hopes of ending their 11 game slide, with their latest loss coming at the hands of the Newman University Jets
on Wednesday, April 5. Despite the losing streak, Ranger fans have been able to witness the emergence of a couple of upperclassmen hitters that head coach
Sam Carel will likely rely on down the stretch. Over Northwestern's last 11 games, Canadian designated hitter
Cooper Stanley has begun to heat up, cranking two home runs and a double for a .300 average over that span.
Massachusetts native
Pat Delano has also turned it on as of late, notching nine hits and three walks in his last 29 plate appearances. "I think it's a testament to the guys ahead of and behind me in the lineup" says Delano, a former Boston Red Sox draft pick (2012, 35
th Round). "Having great hitters like Jake (Long), Castro and Van Amstel around me has definitely allowed me to see more fastballs in better hitting counts."
A Pitcher turned first baseman this past offseason, Delano has been excited for the chance to get back to having a bat in his hands. While he certainly seems to have found his stroke, the 6'7", 275 lb. senior says it took some time to get used to hitting at this level. "The biggest adjustment was just getting my timing back" said Delano. "It was a tough first few weeks for me because my timing was out of whack, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it."
Workhorse
Brandon Nesseralla will look to bounce back to his effective form this weekend after a rough couple of outings that have been uncharacteristic of the redshirt freshman out of Alva High School. Nesseralla has been fantastic for Carel this season, posting a 3.38 ERA in 32 innings of work out of the Ranger bullpen.
Coming off a weekend in which they dropped three games to Southwestern Oklahoma State, Southern Nazarene will be returning home to Feland Field after a nine game road swing. Despite hitting .249 as a team, the Crimson Storm will be relying heavily on two senior bats to lead their offense. Mike Descisciolo, an outfielder from Chula Vista, Calif. has been head coach Robert Lee's most reliable offensive weapon, as the 5'8" righty is hitting .353 this season with seven home runs and 32 RBI's out of the three hole.
Lee has also enjoyed success from his catcher Tyler Stevens, the clean-up hitter with a .301 batting average and the home-grown Garrett Perez, the speedy outfielder with an impressive .440 on base percentage. Perez is among the league leaders in stolen bases, swiping 17 bags on the year which is good enough for third in the GAC.
SNU's Achilles heel seems to be their pitching, allowing over two runs per game more than any other team in the conference, posting a staff ERA of 8.74 through their first 33 games. Led by starter Jefferson Harris (1-4, 4.74 ERA), the Crimson Storm pitching staff has struggled to shut down opposing hitters, as teams are batting .335 against Southern Nazarene's arms.
Northwestern will square off with Southern Nazarene on Friday, April 7 at 2 p.m. for a single nine-inning game in Bethany. The two teams will wrap up the series on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at noon.
