MILLINGTON, Tenn. - What started as a less than ideal day later ended on a high note for the Northwest baseball program, as the Rangers recovered from a 7-0 loss to Lake Land College to earn a 17-0 run-rule victory against Glen Oaks on Saturday.
Colton Presley tossed a phenomenal outing in the second game, tossing six strikeouts through four complete innings, as Northwest improved to 1-3 on the season. UAB signee
John Luke Marlin later pitched the final inning to close out the victory, tallying two strikeouts.
Northwest will be back in action on Friday, February 18 against Lake Land College at Jim Miles Field. The doubleheader will begin at 2 P.M. and will be carried live on Ranger TV (nwccrangers.com/watch) and Facebook Live.
Game 1 - Lake Land 7, Northwest 0
After scoring one run apiece in each of the first two innings, Lake Land added five more runs in the top of the third inning to bury Northwest, 7-0.
Three errors in the top of the first inning plagued the Rangers, including one at third that allowed the Lakers to score the game's first inning.
After Bryan Belo's RBI-single made it a 2-0 lead for Lake Land, the Rangers would allow five runs in the third inning, including a pair of RBI base hits from Belo and Ryan Kiolbassa, making it a 7-0 deficit for the Rangers.
To its credit, the Northwest pitching staff kept the Lakers off the board for the remaining four innings, highlighted by C.J. Lofton's solid three-inning debut. The Magnolia Heights alumnus tossed six strikeouts against two walks and allowed no earned runs in his collegiate debut.
Judah Buckner started the contest and was issued the loss after just two innings of work. The Starkville native did earn three strikeouts, despite the loss.
Thanks to a strong five-inning start from Carter Sabol, Lake Land held Northwest to just one hit. Sabol struck out nine batters in the Lakers' victory, while Matthew Porter finished the remaining two innings in relief.
Game 2 - Northwest 17, Glen Oaks 0 (5 inn.)
An already-depleted Glen Oaks pitching staff was no match for the Northwest bats, as the Rangers earned eight hits in the 17-0 victory.
Northwest started the fun in the top of the second inning, as an error on a sac bunt attempt allowed
Wesley Lester to score the first run of the game.
Brady Logan then brought in two more run on his RBI-double, followed by an RBI-single from
Tyler Byrd.
A 4-0 lead quickly became a 7-0 advantage for the Rangers in the third inning, as Logan's RBI-single, Byrd's grounder to third and an RBI-double from
Peeko Townsend put Northwest in a comfortable position.
Northwest then added five more runs over the next two innings, starting with another Glen Oaks error in the top of the fourth that allowed
Ryan Lee to cross the plate. Townsend brought in two more with his single down the left field line, before a bases loaded walk to
Dawson Griffin made it an 11-0 lead.
A passed ball with the bases loaded brought in Townsend to wrap up the fourth inning, but the Vikings' troubles continued into the fifth inning, starting with
Cameron Lancaster's RBI-single to right field. A balk, a fielder's choice and a pair of bases loaded walks brought the score to its final total.
Townsend went 3-for-3 with three RBIs to highlight the Rangers' efforts at the plate. Logan also finished 2-for-2 with three RBIs, while Byrd, Lancaster and Lee finished with one hit each.
Glen Oaks was limited to just two hits, one from Noah Benge and the other from Brandon Osypczuk. The Vikings went through five pitchers, with starter Aaron Boyer being handed the loss after allowing five earned runs in 2.1 innings of action.
