SENATOBIA - Behind a combined 23 base hits, Northwest improved to 4-0 on the season with a pair of 9-7 and 16-6 victories against Columbia State on Tuesday afternoon.
Home runs from
Levi Lang and
Rob Hayes helped make the difference for the Rangers in the opener, and Northwest combined for nine runs over the final two frames in a six-inning run-rule victory in the nightcap.
Will Howell was awarded the win in the opening game, pitching the final four innings in his collegiate debut.
Thomas Mitchell picked up the victory in the nightcap, as both pitchers improved their respective records to 1-0.
Next up for Northwest is a four-game homestand against Lake Land College, scheduled for two doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday, February 7-8. Both twinbills are slated for 1/4 P.M. with broadcast coverage on
Ranger TV.Â
Game 1 - Northwest 9, Columbia State 7
Hits were aplenty for both teams in Tuesday's opener against Columbia State, but Northwest used a six-run frame in the bottom of the fifth to break away from the Chargers.
Columbia State finished with 12 base hits in the loss, while the Rangers were credited with 11 of their own. Additionally, Northwest was hit with three errors despite the win.
Lang wasted no time getting the Rangers on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first, hammering a two-run homer to left center. Camden Vaughn helped the Chargers close the gap in the top of the third, as a single to left field brought the score to 2-1.
Hayes' groundout to second base allowed
Meyer Maddox to score, pushing the lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the third. However, Cade Hitson's grounder to short brought back another run for Columbia State in the top of the fifth, trimming the deficit to 3-2.
Things escalated quickly for Northwest in the home half of the fifth inning, kickstarted by a three-run homer from Hayes.
Jackson Jenkins followed with an RBI-triple, stretching the lead to 7-2.
Lang followed with a single to center, scoring Jenkins, and
Walker Sanders scored from third on a balk, as the Rangers extended the lead to 9-2.
Although the Chargers responded with a four-run frame in the top of the sixth, the bats soon cooled off for both teams with no runs scored over the next two and a half innings. Columbia State did add another run in the top of the ninth on a sacrifice fly, but Howell finished the job in relief, preserving the win.
Through four complete innings, Howell scattered three strikeouts against a walk, an earned run and three hits.
Brady Stinnett opened the game with five strikeouts against four walks in the first three innings, surrendering an earned run.
Gideon Deaton and
Jace Robinson also pitched in relief, with Deaton going 1.1 innings with two strikeouts and a pair of walks. Robinson lasted 0.2 innings with two strikeouts against a walk and three earned runs.
Meanwhile, four Rangers finished with two base hits, including Hayes and Lang. Jenkins also went 2-for-5 with a triple and an RBI, while Sanders finished 2-for-4. Additionally,
Austin Batts and
Walker Maranto each came away with a double.
Columbia State hammered out 12 base hits, led by Hutson Miles' 4-for-6 effort and two hits apiece from Cade Hitson and Arturo Rodriguez. Thomas Lankford, the Chargers' starting pitcher, lasted just 1.2 frames, issuing four walks and two earned runs against a single strikeout.
Carter Milligan was effective for Columbia State in 3.2 innings of relief, striking out four Rangers against a pair of walks and an earned run.
Game 2 - Northwest 16, Columbia State 6 (6 inn.)
Although Columbia State started with a 2-0 lead, Northwest rallied back for six runs in the bottom of the third and nine combined over the final two innings, finishing the day with a run-rule victory in the nightcap.
Clint Seymore and John Carter brought in runs for the Chargers across the first two innings, but an RBI-single from
Hallas Lawson sparked the six-run frame for Northwest.
Tyler Sullivan's RBI-double scored the tying run and he later scored the go-ahead run, thanks to an error at second base.Â
Leading 3-2, Hayes provided the biggest fireworks in the bottom of the third, sending a three-run homer to left field, pushing the score to 6-2.
Columbia State got another run back in the top of the fourth on Matthew McClellan's single up the middle, but the Rangers responded with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning, as
Hallas Lawson's groundout to third base scored
Mason Gillentine.
Trailing 7-3 entering the top of the fifth, the Chargers loaded the bases on a walk, a double and a hit-by-pitch. Two bases-loaded walks to Carter and Derek Valentin-Luciano helped Columbia State drive in a pair of runs and a groundout from McClellan brought the deficit down to 7-6.
With its lead now down to a single run, Northwest quickly responded with an RBI-double from Maranto and a balk later allowed him to score. Leading 9-6, Gillentine's two-run single scored Hayes and
John Whit Snopek, moving the score to 11-6.
A lone single was all that the Chargers could muster in the top of the sixth, and back-to-back errors helped the Rangers kickstart a five-run push in the bottom of the inning. Sullivan scored on a wild pitch and Gillentine followed with a two-run single, before Jenkins' RBI-single brought in
Lake Reed for the winning run.
Mitchell was handed the win in for Northwest, striking out three batters against a pair of earned runs and a walk.
Brennan Jones and
Eli Deberry also took the mound in relief, combining for three innings and a pair of strikeouts.
Four Rangers finished with two base hits, led by Snopek's double and Hayes' 2-for-3 effort with a home run and three RBIs. Gillentine and Maranto also came away with two base hits, while Lawson finished 1-for-4 with a pair of RBIs.
Anthony Serrano was handed the loss for Columbia State, lasting three full innings with five strikeouts against a walk and two earned runs. The Chargers' pitching staff allowed 10 unearned runs, thanks to six errors in the field.
Columbia State scattered six base hits throughout the lineup, highlighted by Carter's home run and doubles from Seymore and Tyler Jenkins.
