ALVA Okla. – The Northwestern Oklahoma State baseball team will take on Arkansas Tech in a conference series this weekend after weather in the area has pushed the games back to a Saturday-Sunday series.
The Rangers (7-4, 2-1 GAC)will square off with the Wonder Boys (6-5, 1-2 GAC) in a single game on Saturday and then a double-header on Sunday. Northwestern will look to pick up their second series victory of the season after defeating Harding last weekend in Alva, 2-1.
Tech dropped their first conference series to Southwestern Oklahoma State 2-1 last weekend and will square off with a Ranger ball club that currently ranks third in the league with a team batting average of .294. Northwestern's line-up will be led by senior Jorin Van Amstel, who will enter the series red-hot at the plate and currently sports the third best batting average in the conference at .442.
Two other Rangers in Justin Bundy and Luis Mendoza will also enter the three games hitting over .400 on the year and will be a tough trio for a Arkansas Tech pitching staff that has an ERA of 4.55 to slow down. Redshirt sophomore Daschal Johnson will serve as a lead-off hitter during the series and has crossed home plate 13 times already this season.
Senior Walker Wharton has been electric on the mound so far this season in his three starts, picking up a win in each of those contests and leads the conference with an ERA of 0.77. Wharton will lead a pitching staff that has displayed quality depth all season long, and will work through a Wonder Boy lineup that is currently hitting .284.
Despite dropping their first conference series of the season, Arkansas Tech has defeated two nationally-ranked opponents this year in Central Oklahoma and Emporia State and will feature two of the league's premier batters in Riley Hickerson and Connor Brady. Hickerson is hitting .410 on the season and leads the squad with 16 hits, while Brady is second on the team with an average of .379.
First pitch for the games are set for 3 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday, with the second game of the doubleheader coming immediately after the conclusion of the first game.
