HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The Northwestern Oklahoma State baseball team defeated Ouachita Baptist, 6-1, on the second day of the Great American Conference tournament to secure their first ever victory in the GAC baseball tournament.

The Rangers and Tigers grappled for momentum at the start of the game with only one combined hit through two innings, with the Rangers yanking it away in the bottom of the third off back-to-back singles from Brody Harris and Alex Dabrowski to put runners at the corners. Blake Mattern got hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Chase Gordon brought Harris home on a sacrifice fly to give the Rangers an early 1-0 lead. The Rangers weren't done yet, as Cole Barton smashed a single to right center to put two more runs on the board and extend Northwestern's lead to 3-0.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Rangers added on another run, with Mattern drawing a leadoff walk, moving to second on a groundout, and coming home on a double from Barton to make it 4-0. Ouachita responded with a run in the top of the sixth the move back within three, but Joel Lindahl sent a towering shot to right field for a two-run home run to give the Rangers a 6-1 win.

Barton led the Rangers in hits with three, and led in RBI with three. Logan Sandoval recorded four strikeouts through seven innings of work for his ninth win of the season.

The Rangers will be back in action tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Majestic Park, as they will take on Harding in an elimination game, with the winner playing Arkansas Tech at 8 p.m.

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