HAYS, Kan. – It was a back-and-forth game early, but in the end the Northwestern Oklahoma State University baseball team dropped a game to Fort Hays State on the road Wednesday afternoon, 8-4.
Northwestern fell to 17-13 overall this season with the loss.
The Northwestern bats started strong Wednesday afternoon against the Tigers, but cooled off as the game went along. Luis Mendoza was the lone Ranger with multiple hits as he went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run batted in.
Of the eight hits by the Rangers, three were for extra bases with Harrison Hull teeing off for a two-run home run in the second inning to give the Rangers a 3-0 lead, which was preceded by a RBI double by Tanner Rutledge. It was Hull’s first home run of the season, as well as Rutledge’s first double as a Ranger.
Fort Hays picked up four runs in the next two innings to give them a 4-3 lead. The Rangers tied the game in the top half of the sixth when Justin Bundy, who had scored on the Rutledge double, scored again when he drew a leadoff walk and crossed the plate on a Mendoza RBI single.
Unfortunately, that’s where the scoring ended for the Rangers. Carlos Andujar had the only Northwestern hit in the final three innings. The Tigers sealed the game with a two runs in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead, while added two more in the eighth.
The damage could have been greater, but Dillon Van Oosbree induced a fly ball to center with the bases load in the eighth to get stop the bleeding.
Six Ranger pitchers took the mound in the game with Brandon Nesseralla throwing two effective innings as he struck out four of the seven batters he faced. Koby Spicer (0-1) was the pitcher of record for the Rangers.
Northwestern splits to home-and-home against Fort Hays State this season and finishes the year with a 5-2 mark over the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA).
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