SHAWNEE, Okla. – The Northwestern Oklahoma State baseball team won both games of their doubleheader against Oklahoma Baptist on Thursday to win the series over the Bison. The wins move the Rangers to 20-18 on the season and 11-12 in Great American Conference play.
Game 1
The Rangers got off to a fast start, as
Alex Dabrowski drew a leadoff walk, stole second and third, and came home off a single from
Chase Gordon.
Cole Barton drew a walk to move Gordon to second, and
Joel Lindahl ripped a single to center field to give Northwestern a 2-0 lead through the first inning. The Ranger bats stayed hot in the second, as
Brandon Jennings doubled to right field, Dabrowski drew his second walk of the game, and
Blake Mattern got hit by a pitch to load the bases. Gordon brought Jennings home on a sacrifice fly, and Dabrowski raced home to score on an error to put the Rangers up 4-0.
Oklahoma Baptist tied the game with a four-run third inning, but the Rangers responded back in the fourth with a triple from Dabrowski and a double from Mattern to retake the lead, 5-4.
Jason McCarty added on another run by roping a single down the right side to move the lead to 6-4. The Bison tied the game once again in the bottom of the inning at 6-6, but the Rangers poured on seven runs in the fifth capped by a grand slam from Gordon to extend the lead to 13-6.
The runs kept coming in the sixth for the Rangers, as Dabrowski got hit by a pitch, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch, and came home on a sacrifice fly to left field from Mattern to give the Rangers an eight-run advantage. Oklahoma Baptist tacked on two runs in the bottom of the eighth to cut their deficit to six.
Northwestern added a run in the ninth off a double from Barton and a single from McCarty, and Lindahl hammered a double down the left field line to plate another run and double up the Bison. Northwestern kept adding runs with a single by
Matthew Bailey, a double from
Jailon Goodfellow, and a two-run home run from Jennings to make the score 20-8 in favor of the Rangers. Dabrowski kept the offense going with a double down the left field line, and Mattern brought him home on a sacrifice fly to get a 21-8 victory.
Gordon, McCarty, and Lindahl led the Rangers in hits with three each, while Gordon led in RBI with six.
Game 2
Northwestern's bats did not cool down in the second game, as Bailey reached on an error to start the third inning, and Goodfellow singled to put a runner in scoring position. Jennings got the bases loaded by reaching on a bunt, and Dabrowski got on base on a fielder's choice to get the Rangers on the board.
The Rangers added on two more runs in the fifth with Dabrowski doubling to center field to bring a run home, and Barton blasting a single to right field to make 3-0 in favor of Northwestern. The Rangers kept doing damage in the sixth, as they scored six runs in the inning to put the game away, with Goodfellow hitting a three-run bomb, Barton bringing two runs home on a single with the bases loaded, and Lindahl scoring on a bases loaded walk to win 9-0.
Barton, Goodfellow, and Jennings led the Rangers in hits with three, Barton and Goodfellow led in RBI with three each.
Logan Sandoval recorded seven strikeouts in seven innings of work for his sixth win of the season and his fourth complete game of the season.
The Rangers will close out the series against the Bison tomorrow, with the first pitch at 1 p.m.
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