SENATOBIA - Lake Land College scored 12 runs in the third inning of Friday's opener and the Lakers outlasted a 13-inning marathon in the nightcap, as Northwest fell 16-12 and 5-4 in the first two games of a four-game series.
Sophomore
Levi Lang was one of the brightest spots for the Rangers at the plate in the two games, as the Judsonia, Ark. native finished 5-for-8 with a home run and two RBIs. Freshman
John Whit Snopek also went 2-for-5 with a double in the nightcap.
On the mound,
Gavin McCoy was handed the loss in the opening game, while freshman reliever
Meyer Maddox was issued the loss for the second game.
Both teams will do battle again on Saturday afternoon at 1/4 P.M. with broadcast coverage of both games carried on
Ranger TV.
Game 1 - Lake Land College 16, Northwest 12
An early two-run lead was soon overshadowed by a nightmarish top of the third inning, as Northwest surrendered 12 runs in an eventual 16-12 loss to Lake Land College.
Lang homered to left center to get the Rangers on the scoreboard first and
Walker Maranto followed with an RBI-double to right field, but the wheels quickly fell off in the third. Kiefer Tarnoki delivered a leadoff single, then stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error, later scoring off Vincent Spotofora's groundout to third. Brandon Johnson's RBI-double tied the game at 2-2.
Things went from bad to worse after that, as a bases loaded walk and a two-run single from Sharif Colon made it a 5-2 advantage for the Lakers. Another bases loaded walk, a single from Spotofora and a three-run double from Drew DuPont pushed the deficit to 10-2, and Luca Mendez made it a 12-2 advantage with a two-run double to center field.
Northwest did show some sparks of life at the plate in the bottom of the fourth, gaining a run back on a sacrifice fly from Maddox. However, a three-run homer to left field from Colon further extended the Lake Land College lead to 15-3.
To their credit, the Rangers battled back with nine runs over the next two innings. A leadoff single from
Austin Batts and back-to-back hit-by-pitches loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth, leading to a bases loaded walk to
Walker Sanders and a bases loaded hit-by-pitch in Lang's at-bat.
Mason McMillin followed with a two-run single and an error in Maddox' at-bat allowed Lang to score from third, closing the gap to 15-8. A wild pitch and an RBI base hit from Batts brought Northwest back within 15-10.
Although the Lakers loaded the bases in the top of the sixth, reliever
Drew Lamb left the runners stranded with no damage done. The Rangers followed with a sacrifice fly from Maddox and Sanders scored from third as Lang stole second base, trimming the deficit to 15-12.
However, Lake Land College would get one last run across in the top of the seventh and Kayden Althoff retired the Rangers in order to preserve the Lakers' win.
Lake Land College finished with 13 hits in the victory, compared to seven from Northwest. The Rangers were led by two apiece from Batts, Lang and McMillin, with Maranto also finishing with a double. Colon led the Lakers with a 3-for-4 effort and five RBIs in the bottom of the order.
McCoy fell to 1-1 on the season after lasting just 2.2 innings for Northwest, allowing seven runs on six walks with three strikeouts.
Mason Gillentine,
Tatum Turner and Lamb combined for the next 4.1 innings of relief, with Turner issuing three strikeouts against three walks and four runs.
Drake McDonald pitched the first three innings for Lake Land College, earning the win with four strikeouts against a walk and two earned runs. Althoff picked up the save over the final two innings for the Lakers, allowing no runs or walks.
Game 2 - Lake Land College 5, Northwest 4 (13 inn.)
While both teams had chances to seal the win in extra innings, it took a bases loaded walk in the top of the 13th inning that saw Lake Land College pick up the narrow win against Northwest.
Neither team scored in the first inning, but the Lakers scored one run apiece in each of the next three frames. Meanwhile, the Rangers were held scoreless until scoring three runs to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth.
Gillentine got the scoring started for Northwest, as his RBI-double to center field scored
Lake Reed from third.
Hallas Lawson followed with a single through the left side, scoring Snopek from third base. A failed pickoff attempt of Lawson at first allowed Gillentine to score the tying run from third, knotting up the game at 3-3.
Lake Land College left a pair of runners stranded in the top of the seventh, but Northwest was retired in order in the home half of the inning, sending the game to extra innings.
Though a wild pitch helped the Lakers briefly gain a 4-3 lead in the top of the eighth, a walk to Sanders and back-to-back singles from Lang and McMillin drove in the tying run with two outs, sending the game into the ninth inning.
Both teams remained scoreless over the next four innings, though the Rangers left runners stranded in the ninth, 10th, 12th and 13th innings. In turn, Lake Land College left two stranded in the 11th inning. However, a leadoff double from Tarnoki and base hits from Spotofora and DuPont eventually paved the way for a bases loaded walk that would result in the winning run in the top of the 13th inning.
Lang showed some promise for the Rangers with a leadoff single in the bottom of the inning, but back-to-back flyouts and a fielder's choice helped the Lakers hang on to the win.
Northwest got nine hits in the loss, led by Lang's 3-for-6 effort and a pair of doubles from Gillentine and Snopek. DuPont and Tarnoki combined for four of Lake Land College's eight hits, including a double from Tarnoki, a triple from Colon and a home run from Spotofora.
Maddox (0-1) was issued the loss for the Rangers, despite 2.1 solid innings of relief. The Hernando native issued three strikeouts against a walk and an earned run, while starter
Tyler Sullivan went five full frames, totaling five strikeouts against a walk and three earned runs.
Gideon Deaton and
Jace Robinson also combined for 5.2 innings of relief, combining for eight strikeouts.
For the Lakers, Colin McCarty picked up the win after four complete relief innings of four strikeouts and a walk. Starter Lucas Bixby lasted 4.1 frames with five strikeouts, no walks and two earned runs.
