ALVA, Okla. - The Northwestern baseball team prepares to take on conference opponent Southern Nazarene this upcoming weekend to open conference play. Rangers will go into conference play with a 2-6 record after participating in the Edmond 1st Pitch Invitational, and the 2020 Ranger Roundup. The Rangers will look to rebound from a 5-1 loss to Northeastern State this past Tuesday.
The Red-and-Black are led by head coach Ryan Bowen who is currently in his third season with the Rangers. He has a record of 49-57 with the program. He had Northwestern ranked as high as 5th last season in the Central Region.
The Rangers are currently led by their higher powered offense, which has been led by redshirt senior Bryce Donovan. He is currently hitting .464 with 9 runs 3HR and 10RBI's along with 10 walks to having an on base percentage of .590 through eight games. Yugo Hamakawa is tied with Donovan for the team lead in hits with 13 for a .464 average as well. Brett Erickson is the final Ranger to be hitting over .400 with a .421 average on eight hits.
The pitching staff is led by Colby Carlson and Kaleb Honea who have ERA's of 3.86 and 2.08 respectively. Each pitcher has one victory on the season and will look to carry that into this upcoming week against the crimson storm.
Southern Nazarene:
The Crimson Storm has been a team of runs so far to start the season. After dropping their first four games, they have stormed back by winning four straight over Oklahoma Panhandle State. Their latest victory coming from a 6-5 victory in Bethany, Oklahoma.
Southern Nazarene is led by head coach Grant Ledbetter who has entered his first season with the Crimson Storm as the head coach. He was an assistant coach with the Storm all of last season.
The Crimson Storm are led by Tyler Broylee who is hitting .423 on the young season with 11 hits on the year. Clay Lockett has been the most productive hitter with a.406 average, as he leads the team in hits with 13 and seven RBI's. Lockett has the Storms only home run of the season so far to date.
The pitching staff to date has been led by Brett Rexroad who has a 2.19 ERA through 12 innings so far this season in two starts. He is followed by Trever Smith who has a 4.15 ERA in two relief appearances.
Series History:
Northwestern leads the history between the two programs with a 22-8 record. The Rangers went to Bethany and swept the Storm in a three game seires last February. The Rangers out scored them 42-8 in the series. Last time the series was in Alva the Rangers won two games to three. Lastly the Rangers are 8-2 in their last 10 against the Crimson Storm.
How the teams Compare:
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Northwestern
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Southern Nazarene
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Batting Average: .309
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Batting Average: .267
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HR: 10
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HR: 1
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R:49
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R: 44
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RBI: 46
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RBI: 38
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OBP: .381
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OBP: .388
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ERA: 8.83
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ERA: 7.02
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WHIP: 1.94
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WHIP: 2.02
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FLD %: .973
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FLD%: .949
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REMINDER: The new schedule for the weekend is as followed;
Saturday: First Pitch 2PM second game follows 30 minutes after the final pitch
Sunday: First Pitch 1PM
All games will be broadcasted on https://www.youtube.com/user/NWOSURangers
