LAWTON, Okla. – Northwestern Oklahoma State baseball was on the losing end of a 14-5 non-conference affair against Cameron University on Tuesday in Lawton. The Rangers jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the top of the 1
st, but it was all for not as they would allow 13 runs in the final four innings to drop the first of two meetings with the Aggies this season.
The Rangers gave starter
Nick Llorente some early run support as Northwestern exploded for four runs before the sophomore right hander had even stepped on the rubber. The Rangers took advantage of four hits, a walk and an error in the inning, and had some help by way of three wild pitches by Aggie pitcher Alex Ward to take the early 4-0 edge.
Llorente got the black-and-red through two frames unscathed but ran into trouble in the 3
rd when a two-out hit batsman led to an RBI double to get Cameron on the board.
Baron Phillips came on to minimize the damage, maintaining a 4-1 lead through the 4
th.
Things started to go south in the 5
th when four Ranger relievers were needed to get out of the inning, but not before Cameron tied the game up with three runs on just one hit (a bunt single) and five free-passes.
Northwestern was able to briefly regain control of the lead in the 6
th after Canadian centre fielder
Greg Carrington cashed in
Justin Bundy with a sac-fly. Carrington (2-for-3, 2 RBI) had the only multi-hit game for the Rangers.
But the Aggies answered back in the 6
th, 7
th and 8
th innings as they put up crooked numbers in each frame to hand the Rangers a 14-5 loss, moving Northwestern back to the .500 mark.
Up Next
Northwestern will have a couple of days to regroup before hosting one of the Great American Conference's best in the University of Arkansas-Monticello this weekend at Myers Stadium. The Boll Weevils are off to a hot start in 2018, coming to Alva with a 14-5 record (10-2 GAC), but are in the midst of a two-game slide at the hands of Oklahoma Baptist.
First pitch on Friday is slated for 7 p.m. from Glass Family Field and can be seen live on riderangersride.com or heard on the Pulse 105.7 FM in the Alva area.
For the latest news and updates on Ranger Baseball, follow @NWOSUAthletics on TWITTER or visit www.riderangersride.com
