SENATOBIA – Twelve different Rangers had a hit on Saturday, led by three apiece from
Jordan Volner and
Brooks Boolos, as Northwest successfully opened the season with a doubleheader sweep of Shawnee by 7-3 and 15-4 finals.
In the opener,
Justin Milam hit two solo home runs and
Aaron Campbell added four RBIs to help the Rangers pull away from what was a 3-2 game in the third.
Jarod Wright allowed two runs off four hits and had to work out of trouble in all three of his innings, throwing 69 pitches in a no-decision.
Nathan Harrison entered in relief to start the fourth and scattered three hits and only one run in four innings to earn his first collegiate win. Harrison,
Drew Hurst and
J.G. Lipscomb hung four consecutive zeros to close the game.
Leading 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth, Campbell's bases-clearing double to left with two outs stretched the lead to 6-2 after four.
Milam's solo blast in the fifth, his second of the game, put the finishing touches on a 7-3 season-opening win.
Dalton Minton tossed four solid innings, allowing one run on five hits while striking out five to lift the Rangers to a 15-4 run-rule win in the nightcap.
After stranding the bases loaded in the top of the first, a six-run bottom half was more than enough for Minton. Boolos' RBI-triple got the inning started, followed by an RBI-double from Campbell, homers by Volner and
Baron Davies and an RBI-single from
Zack Pope.
Northwest busted it wide open in the third, plating eight runs to take a 15-0 lead after three.
Cody Andresky doubled to score a pair,
Baron Davies added a bases-clearing double, Pope doubled to score two and Volner added an RBI-single in the inning.
Shawnee scored four runs over the final two frames on a solo homer from Adam Jones and three-run shot from Cameron Chapman.
Northwest out-hit the Saints 14-7, with nine different Rangers picking up a hit. Volner was 3-for-4 and three others had multiple hits. Davies was 2-for-3 with five RBIs in his collegiate debut.
The Rangers will continue a 12-game homestand to start the season on Wednesday, Feb. 15 against Jackson State.