Baseball March 06, 2021

Rangers Baseball set for First Road Series of the Season in Ada

ALVA, Okla.- The Red-and-Black will travel to take on the Tigers of East Central in Ada, Oklahoma, for their weekend series. The series will begin Saturday, March 6th, with the first pitch set for 1:30 PM. The series will conclude with a doubleheader on Sunday starting at 11 AM. Northwestern is coming off of a series victory over Arkansas-Monticello, winning two of the three games in that series, including a game three win 13-2 in eight innings.

The Rangers, led by head coach Ryan Bowen is in his fourth season with the baseball program with a 61-67 record here with Northwestern.

Yugo Hamakawa leads the Red-and-Black (out of qualified hitters based on plate appearances) with a .429 batting average through the opening six games on the season as one of seven total Rangers' hitters about the .300 mark. Marques Paige (.421), Daschal Johnson (.391), Jake White (.353), and Jose Rubalcava (.313). Preston Lonadier are hitting .625 in eight plate appearances and Brett Erickson at .417 in his 12 plate appearances. Paige leads the team with two home runs on the season, with Hamakawa, Johnson, and White each with one. Johnson leads the team with eight RBI, followed by Paige with six.

The pitching staff, led by Austin Thomason and Scott Creedon, each have two starts on the young season. Creedon is 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA through 11 innings with six strikeouts. Thomason is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA with one complete game through his two starts. He is tied with ten strikeouts for the most on the team with Ethan Swanson. Swanson has thrown in two games this season for eight-inning pitched. Kaleb Honea has one save on the year in as many tries for the Rangers bullpen. The one save on the season for Honea came in a 4-3 victory in the final inning.

East Central:
The Tigers come into the weekend series with an 0-7 record 0-3 in Great American Conference play. Their last series was against a home series against Arkansas Tech, where they dropped all three games.

East Central, led by third-year head coach Lloyd Gage, Gage took over the program starting in the 2019 season. He holds a 17-63 record with the Tigers.

The Tigers' offense is led by Colton Schaper-Kotter, as he is the lone Tiger, hitting above the .300 mark with a .350 average on the season. He is 7-20 on the season with two home runs with seven RBI and four runs scored so far in this young season. Garrett Lemons has one home run on the season as Kotter and Lemons the only two players with a home run. Lemons has five RBI on the season for second on the team.

Jonny Chavez leads the pitching staff with a team-best 2.45 ERA in four appearances made for East Central on the season for 11 innings pitched. Chavez leads the team with 13 strikeouts, followed by Ryan Collins with 11 strikeouts on the year. Collins has made two starts in three appearances on the season for 10.2 innings pitched, followed by Spencer Johnston with 10.1 innings pitched on two starts.

History:
Northwestern was unable to play the Tigers last season before the cancelation occurred due to the pandemic. The last time these two teams faced one another would have to date back to the 2019 baseball season where the Rangers won the three-game series taking two games in that series. The Red-and-Black have won the last two series, including seven of eight games. Northwestern won the final two games of the previous series against the Tigers by scores of 23-11 and 18-2.

Series Start Times:
Saturday- 1:30PM
Sunday- 11AM and 2PM

Watch: https://ecutigers.com/watch/?Live=560&type=Live
Stats: https://ecutigers.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
For the latest news and updates on NWOSU Baseball, follow @NWOSUAthletics on TWITTER or visit www.riderangersride.com.

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Players Mentioned

#11 Scott Creedon: RHP / R/R; 5' 11"; Redshirt Sophomore

#1 Brett Erickson: INF / R/R; 5' 8"; Junior

#5 Yugo Hamakawa: SS / L/R; 5' 8"; Junior

#10 Kaleb Honea: RHP / R/R; 6' 0"; Senior

#2 Daschal Johnson: OF / R/R; 5' 8"; Senior

#13 Preston Lonadier: OF / R/R; 5' 10"; Redshirt Sophomore

#6 Marques Paige: INF / R/R; 6' 0"; Senior

#8 Jose Rubalcava: INF / R/R; 5' 7"; Freshman

#15 Ethan Swanson: RHP / R/R; 5' 9"; Junior

#26 Austin Thomason: RHP / R/R; 6' 0"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#11 Scott Creedon
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Sophomore
: RHP / R/R

#1 Brett Erickson
: 5' 8"; Junior
: INF / R/R

#5 Yugo Hamakawa
: 5' 8"; Junior
: SS / L/R

#10 Kaleb Honea
: 6' 0"; Senior
: RHP / R/R

#2 Daschal Johnson
: 5' 8"; Senior
: OF / R/R

#13 Preston Lonadier
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Sophomore
: OF / R/R

#6 Marques Paige
: 6' 0"; Senior
: INF / R/R

#8 Jose Rubalcava
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: INF / R/R

#15 Ethan Swanson
: 5' 9"; Junior
: RHP / R/R

#26 Austin Thomason
: 6' 0"; Senior
: RHP / R/R