ALVA, Okla. – Northwestern Oklahoma State baseball came out on the losing end of a doubleheader sweep at the hands of the Missouri Southern State Lions (3-0, 0-0 MIAA) on Friday, falling 18-3 in game one and 6-2 in the nightcap.
GAME 1
The Rangers managed to jump out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 3
rd when left fielder
Daschal Johnson manufactured a run with his speed, reaching on a walk before stealing second and advancing on a throwing error from the Lions catcher. Just one pitch later,
Johnnuelle Ponce drove in Johnson for the game's first run.
But things would get ugly from there as the Lions hit their way to five earned runs off the Northwestern starter
Ryan Marcoccia, making his first collegiate start. Missouri Southern State put up six runs in the top of the 4
th and never looked back.
Northwestern countered another crooked number in the 5
th with a two-run inning, but it was too little too late as the Lions had already built up an 11-1 advantage. After catcher
Brendan Kates reached on an infield single,
Brock Randels lined a double to right field. Johnson followed that up with a double of his own, scoring both runners to make it an 11-3 ballgame.
Missouri Southern continued to score runs in the 6
th and 7
th, eventually handing the Rangers a run-rule loss in seven innings by a final of 18-3.
GAME 2
Sophomore
Sean Rydell was on the mound for the night game of Thursday's doubleheader, and the right-hander impressed in his four innings of work, allowing just two earned runs while striking out five against the potent MSSU lineup.
After a lead-off walk came around to score in the top of the 2
nd, Rydell tossed a clean 3
rd inning before running into some trouble in the 4
th. Rydell surrendered a two-out RBI double to the Lions first baseman before an error by shortstop
TJ Kassner extended the inning allowing Missouri Southern to take a 3-0 lead.
MSSU added another run in the 5
th before Northwestern found their first bit of offense.
Luis Mendoza broke up MSSU starter Seth Mesey's no-hit bid with a lead-off single, setting up a 2-run blast over the scoreboard in left by Ranger catcher
Harrison Hull to cut the lead to just 4-2.
But the Lions answered right back in the top of the 6
th with a two-run home run of their own, handing the Rangers a 6-2 loss as they dropped both games of the doubleheader.
Up Next
Northwestern will wrap up their three-game series with Missouri Southern State tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Myers Stadium.That game can be seen live on riderangersride.com/watch
For the latest news and updates on Ranger Baseball, follow @NWOSUAthletics on TWITTER or visit www.riderangersride.com
