• First two games of three-game series
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – After picking up a pair of midweek wins, the Northwestern Oklahoma State University baseball team continued its winning ways Friday afternoon as the Rangers swept both ends of a doubleheader at Ouachita Baptist.
Northwestern held off a late push by the Tigers in the series opener to win 9-8, only to handle the seven-inning nightcap with ease en route to an 8-2 outcome to secure a series win. The three-game set would conclude Saturday afternoon with a 1 p.m. contest in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.
The Rangers have won four straight and are winners of five of their last seven games. Friday’s wins improved their overall mark to 16-11 and 6-10 against Great American Conference foes.
Carlos Andujar reached base in each of the five times he went to plate in game one with four hits, including a home run, and a walk. Bryce Donovan had a solid performance in the second game with a huge three-run home run and a triple. He finished the game with three hits, four runs batted in and scored twice.
Donovan accounted for nine of the Rangers runs during Friday’s doubleheader.
Andujar improved his batting average to .412 after the two games on Saturday. Despite his game one performance, he was held hitless in the second game to snap an 11-game hitting streak. However, he drew a walk in game two to maintain a 23-game on base streak.
The two home runs the Rangers hit Friday moved their total to 42 on the season, tying their total from last season in 640 fewer at bats.
Game 1
The Tigers put the Rangers down early with a run in the bottom of the first, but Jake Darrow answered in the next half inning for the Rangers with a RBI single up the middle to score Donovan who has previously led the inning off with a single.
Donovan gave the Rangers the lead in the top of the third inning as he sent a ball into deep center for a fly out, but deep enough for Andujar to come home to go up 2-1. Two batters later, Brock Randels singled through the right side to score Justin Bundy and Johnnuelle Ponce.
Bundy loaded the bases earlier in the inning with a single. He finished the first contest with three hits.
In the Ranger half of the fifth inning, Randels drove in his third RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to score Donovan.
The home team had their first comeback push of the afternoon with two runs in the fifth inning to make it a 5-4 ballgame. But Andujar responded with his sixth home run of the season in the sixth inning.
Colton Whitehouse started a three-run seventh inning with a single to drive in Randels. Whitehouse scored a couple batters later when Darrow tripled to right center, who then scored in the next at bat on a passed ball to put the Rangers up 9-4.
Ouachita picked up two runs in the bottom of the seventh and in their final inning.
Kaleb Honea got the start on the bump and picked up the win for the Rangers with three strikeouts in six innings. Sean Rydell earned the save.
Game 2
Jacob Uhing had another solid outing for the Rangers as he got the start on the mound in the second game. The junior pitched six of the seven innings and struck out five batters to get the win, his third of the season.
Beau Britton struck out two in a perfect final inning.
Donovan scored the first run of the game for the Rangers when he came home on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Randels. Whitehouse followed with an RBI single to make it 2-0 Rangers in the second.
The senior, Donovan, continued to make an impact in the top of the third as he pushed across a run on an RBI groundout just after an error on a misplayed ball hit by Bundy plated a run.
In the top of the fifth, another Tiger error on a pickoff attempt allowed Darrow to come home. In the next at bat, Donovan went yard for the third time this season with a three-run home run to make it 8-1 Rangers.
The Tigers put the final run of the game on the board in the bottom of the sixth for the final 8-2 difference.
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