ALVA, Okla. – It was a tough afternoon at the ballpark Saturday for the Northwestern Oklahoma State University baseball team as they dropped a pair of doubleheader games against Southeastern Oklahoma State at Glass Family Field at Myers Stadium.
While Northwestern was able to rattle off 18 hits in the first game, the Savage Storm made their opportunities count with a 10-7 win over the Rangers. In the nightcap, Northwestern wasn't able to move runners crossed the plate in an 8-3 loss.
Northwestern (22-23, 11-18) will play its final midweek contest of the season Tuesday in Wichita, Kansas against Newman, before returning home for the last weekend of the season against Southwestern Oklahoma State.
Johnnuelle Ponce continued to hit the ball solidly for the Rangers with a 5-for-8 performance in the two games with a run batted in, three runs scored and three walks. Ponce's biggest hit of the afternoon came in the second game with a solo blast out to left field for homerun No. 18 on the year, tied for the fourth best single season homerun total at in program history.
The redshirt senior now sits in a tie for seventh with 26 career home runs in a Ranger uniform with Jose Tellez (2004-05) and Northwestern Hall of Famer Billy Cox (2004-05).
Bryce Donovan had a solid game one at the plate with four hits, just the third time a Ranger has done that this season, including two doubles and three RBI. Daschal Johnson and Luis Cintron each had three hits in the first game, while Justin Bundy and Luis Mendoza joined Ponce with a pair of hits.
Colton Whitehouse was in the lineup in game two as the designated hitter and hit his third homerun of the season, add a double to the mix as well. Jake Darrow also earned multiple singles in the game two.
Game 1
Right out of the game, the tough breaks started for the Rangers. After back-to-back singles by Johnson and Cintron, and a Ponce free pass, Bundy just missed a grand slam, but the ball was deep enough to scoring Johnson.
The Savage Storm had put three on the board in the top of the first, so heading to the second the Rangers trailed 3-1.
Southeastern added two more in the fourth before the Rangers responded in the bottom of the inning when Bundy singled and scored on a Mendoza single to right to cut the lead to 5-2. Donovan cut into the lead again in the home half of the fifth with a double bases loaded double to score Johnson. Unfortunately, Cintron has thrown out at home to cauter any other damage.
After the Southeastern extended its lead in the top of the sixth to 9-3, Donovan earned his second double of the game in the bottom of the seventh to batters after Ponce doubled to make it 9-4.
The Rangers answered a run in the top of the ninth by the Savage Storm. Donovan added his fourth hit of the game with a single to right to plate Ponce who led the inning off with a single. However, Donovan was thrown out at second trying to stretch the play.
Bundy, who followed Ponce with a double and moved to third on Donovan's hit, was driven on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Greg Carrington.
A little later in the inning, Justin Gordon recorded his fourth double and sixth RBI of the season for the final run of the game to bring the score to 10-7.
Game 2
Southeastern again jumped out on the Rangers in the first inning with three runs and added a fourth in the top of the third.
Northwestern got on the board in its half of the third when Whitehouse hit a rocket out to right, and Ponce led off the fourth with his home run to cut the lead to 4-2.
The Savage Storm put up back-to-back two run innings in the fifth and sixth before the Rangers added the final run of the afternoon in the bottom of the seventh. Marques Paige reached on a double to left field and moved to third two batters later. Darrow then stepped in and drove Paige home for the final 8-3 output.
Northwestern left a total of 19 runners on base in the doubleheader.
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