HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The Northwestern Oklahoma State baseball team defeated Harding, 9-4, on the third day of the Great American Conference tournament.
The game started out as a pitchers' duel, with neither side getting a hit in the first three innings. That quickly changed in the top of the fourth, when
Chase Gordon drew a leadoff walk and
Cole Barton blasted a home run over the left field wall to give Northwestern a 2-0 lead.
Jailon Goodfellow kept the offense going by drawing a walk, with
Matthew Bailey getting on base with another walk.
Jason McCarty smacked a ball to second and reached on an error to bring home another run to extend the Ranger lead to 3-0.
Alex Dabrowski got hit by a pitch to load the bases, but the Rangers could not add to the tally.
The Ranger bats stayed hot, as Gordon started the fifth inning with a solo shot to left to put the Rangers up 4-0, with Lindahl reaching on an infield single. Barton made it three straight hits for the Rangers with a single to left field, and Bailey crushed another home run to left to give Northwestern a 7-0 lead.
Northwestern kept doing damage in the sixth, as Dabrowski reached on an error while Mattern ripped a single to right field. Mattern stole second to put two Rangers in scoring position, and Lindahl brought Dabrowski home on a groundout to increase the lead to 8-0 for the Rangers.
Harding responded with a run in the bottom of the sixth, but the Rangers countered with Goodfellow singling to center field,
Brody Harris getting hit by a pitch, and Dabrowski lacing a single to center field to move the Ranger lead back to eight. The Bisons added on three runs in bottom of the seventh to cut the score back to five, 9-4, but it was not enough for the Bisons, as the Rangers shut them down in the eighth and ninth for their first win against Harding since 2024.
Gordon and Barton led the Rangers in hits with two each, while Bailey led in RBI with three.
Kyle Holzer threw his second straight complete game while striking out five for his fifth win of the season.
The Rangers will play Arkansas Tech at 8 p.m. from Majestic Park, with the Rangers needing to win over the Wonder Boys tonight to force a winner-take-all game against Arkansas Tech on Sunday.
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