MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Ranger bats were alive and well on Sunday as Northwestern wrapped up a three-game series with a sweep of Christian Brothers University on the road. The Rangers tagged the Buccaneers with 14 runs on 17 hits, with eight guys picking up multi-hit games. An outstanding weekend by the pitching staff was capped off by freshman Trevor Stone holding the Bucs to just one earned run over five innings.

The Rangers broke things wide open as the offense erupted for six runs in the top of the 1^st. Third baseman Justin Bundy opened the scoring with his 3^rd RBI of the weekend driving in Daschal Johnson for the games first run. The Rangers would bat around in the inning after three players barreled RBI doubles to give Northwestern a 6-0 lead, chasing CBU starter Ryan Taylor after just 2/3 of an inning.

"We had great at bats and saw the ball well all day long" said head coach Ryan Bowen after the win. "Timely hitting with runners in scoring position makes this game pretty fun."

Despite giving up an early run on a pair of singles, Stone shook it off and settled in nicely in his first ever collegiate start. With perfect innings in the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th, the lean freshman set the Rangers up with a chance to put up another crooked number in the 5^th.

"Although we've got to work on putting guys away with two strikes a little more, I couldn't be more proud of the way he (Stone) competed today" Bowen said of his starter.
In a weekend that saw Northwestern's arms hold CBU hitters to a .151 batting average, pitching coach Aaron Gilbreath feels his staff can execute when called upon.

"We were in attack mode all weekend long and stuck to our game plan. We weren't afraid of contact and our defense and catchers were tremendous behind us. We had a lot of arms who were hungry to get out there, from some true freshmen to some seasoned veterans who hadn't thrown in two years coming off surgery… Although we need to continue to improve, I couldn't be more pleased with their effort and execution this weekend"

After Jorin Van Amstel was hit with a 2-2 pitch, right fielder Judah Zickafoose doubled to the left-center gap to plate Van Amstel from first. Northwestern would capitalize on four base hits and four free bases to put up a second six-run inning to make it a 12-1 game.

But a two-out rally in the bottom half of the inning gave CBU some life as they answered with four runs after a dropped fly ball by Zickafoose allowed the frame to continue.

Redshirt sophomore Baron Phillips took over on the hill for a clean 6^th inning before giving way to freshman Ryan Marcoccia to pitch the 7^th and 8^th. The lefty was perfect in his two innings of work, needing just 14 pitches to retire all six batters he faced.

Northwestern went on to add runs in the final two innings, winning by a final of 14-5.

Coming off Tommy John surgery just 12 months ago, senior Tyler Bernhardt made his return to action when he threw a scoreless 9^th that secured the Ranger victory.
 
Up Next
Northwestern will have a quick turnaround as they host Fort Hays State on Wednesday, Feb. 7 in their home opener at Glass Family Field at Myers Stadium. Originally scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 6, the game has been moved back to avoid impending weather in the Alva area. The Tigers are coming off a three-game sweep of their own after they travelled to UT-Permian Basin to open their season in Odessa, Texas.

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