WICHITA, Kan. – The Northwestern Oklahoma State baseball team defeated Newman, 14-3, in run-rule fashion on Tuesday afternoon.
The Rangers quickly jumped on top of the Jets, with
Alex Dabrowski singling and stealing second, followed by
Blake Mattern drawing a walk and
Matthew Bailey singling to center field to put Northwestern ahead.
Tyler Hogan brought Mattern home on a sacrifice fly, and
Chase Gordon smashed a double to center field to give the Rangers a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the first inning. The Rangers kept pouring on runs in the second inning, with
Joel Lindahl getting aboard on a single before
Grady Thomas sent one over the left field wall to bring the Ranger lead to 5-0. Mattern kept the bats going with a triple to center field, followed by a sacrifice fly from Bailey to give Northwestern a 6-0 lead.
Northwestern's lead continued to grow in the seventh inning, as Lindahl singled to left field, followed by a walk from Dabrowski. Lindahl moved to third on a wild pitch, and Mattern brought him home on a ground out to put Northwestern up 7-0. Newman plated two runs in the bottom of the fourth, but the Rangers roared back with a seven-run seventh inning that started with Mattern drawing a walk, followed by Bailey getting hit by a pitch and
Levi Joyce ripping a double to right field to put Northwestern up 8-2.
Brody Harris kept tacked on another run with a sacrifice fly, and Gordon singled to center field to push the Ranger lead up to 10-2.
DJ Barrett helped the Ranger lead balloon with a two-run bomb to left field to move the lead to double digits, and Lindahl kept the bats hot with a single, followed by Thomas getting hit by a pitch and Dabrowski smashing a triple to right field to clear the bases and give Northwestern a 14-2 advantage. Newman scored a run in the bottom of the seventh, but Northwestern grounded the Jets to get the run-rule win, 14-3.
Lindahl led the Rangers in hits with four, while five different Rangers had two RBI.
Nathan Nunez pitched 6.2 innings, and finished with nine strikeouts for his first win of the season.
The Rangers will be back in action on February 20, when they take on Arkansas Tech University at Myers Stadium, with the first pitch at 3 p.m.
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