ALVA, Okla. – It was a little unusual Sunday evening as the Northwestern Oklahoma State University baseball team was the visiting team on the Glass Family Field at Myers Stadium scoreboard against East Central.
Because of heavy rain Saturday that made the ECU field unplayable, the series between the Rangers and Tigers was moved to Alva. Unfortunately, the Rangers were unable to fend off an eighth inning comeback and the Tigers took game one of the series, 8-6.
Northwestern dropped to 20-19 this season and 9-15 in Great American Conference play. The two programs will get back at it in a doubleheader Monday afternoon. First pitch of game one is set for noon, with the series' seven-inning contest immediately following.
The Rangers quickly got on the board in the top of the first after Daschal Johnson beat out of a throw by the third baseman for an infield hit and was driven in on a gapper in left center by Carlos Andujar. Both Johnson and Andujar finished the game with two hits.
ECU took a lead with two runs in the bottom of the second. However, another leadoff single in the top of the fourth, this time off the bat of Bryce Donovan, led to a sacrifice fly by Jake Darrow to tie the game at two.
Donovan was standing on third following a Luis Mendoza double.
Entering the game as the league leader in home runs, Johnnuelle Ponce struck again with his 12th shot of the season in the visiting half of the fifth inning to put the Rangers on top 3-2. That lead was short lived as the Tigers answered in the bottom half to knot the game at three.
Ponce and Justin Bundy drew back-to-back walks in the eighth inning to set up a Donovan doubled down the right field line to give the Rangers the lead yet again at 4-3. Mendoza kept the scoring going in the following at bat with a single to right to plate a couple of runs and extend the advantage to 6-3.
But the Tigers came storming back in the bottom of the eighth with five hits on four runs, aided by a dropped fly ball in the outfield that loaded the bases and a passed ball that scored a run.
After the Tigers scored the first three runs of the inning, all with no outs, Bundy kept the Tigers from taking the lead with his second assist of the game with a throw from right center to get a runner out at the plate. The senior fired a laser earlier in the game to a runner out at third.
However, a pinch hitter stepped in for the Tigers and delivered the final blow with a two-run single for the go-ahead runs.
The Rangers had one final opportunity to in the top of the ninth when Johnson started the inning off with a double and Andujar drew a one-out walk before both runners were stranded.
Kaleb Honea pitched well in six innings of work for the no decision.
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