ALVA, Okla. – The Northwestern Oklahoma State baseball team split a doubleheader against New Mexico Highlands on Saturday, with the Rangers dropping the first game and winning the second game.
Game 1
After a scoreless first inning, the Rangers got the offense started with a
Tyler Hogan single followed by a walk from
Chase Gordon.
Brody Harris got Northwestern on the board by crushing a double to right center field to put the Rangers ahead 1-0 at the end of the second inning. The Cowboys answered with four runs in the top of the third, and the Rangers got a runner in scoring position as
Grady Thomas drew a walk and moved to third on single by
Alex Dabrowski. Dabrowski got picked off at first, and the Cowboys tacked on two more runs to extend the lead to 6-1 in the top of the fifth. The Rangers tried to rally with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, as
Matthew Bailey reached on an error and
Jailon Goodfellow singled to right field. Northwestern could not keep the rally going, and fell to the Cowboys, 6-1. Hogan led the Rangers in hits with two, while Harris had the only RBI of the game.
Game 2
The Rangers scored quickly in the first inning, as
Blake Mattern doubled to left center and scored on two wild pitches to take a 1-0 lead at the end of the first inning. Northwestern tacked on another run with singles by
Cole Barton and Gordon, with Barton scoring on a sacrifice fly by
Levi Joyce to the Rangers up 2-0. The Cowboys plated two in the top of the third to tie the game at 2-2, but the Rangers jumped back in front with a single to left center field from
Joel Lindahl to bring Bailey home and give Northwestern the 3-2 advantage through four innings.
New Mexico Highlands retied the game at 3-3 in the top of fifth, and the Rangers snatched the lead back as Mattern walked, stole second, and eventually got home on Barton hitting into a fielder's choice. The Rangers got another runner in scoring position, as Lindahl smashed a double to left center field, but they could not bring him home. In the top of the seventh,
Logan Sandoval finished his complete game by shutting the Cowboys down to give the Rangers a 4-3 win.
Lindahl led the Rangers in hits with two, while three different players had an RBI. Sandoval finished his complete game with five strikeouts for his first win of the season.
The Rangers will finish out the series against the Cowboys tomorrow, with the first pitch scheduled for noon at Myers Stadium.
For the latest news and updates on NWOSU, follow @NWOSUAthletics on TWITTER or visit www.riderangersride.com
