By Rebecca Wagner, Senior Reporter
The Northwestern baseball team opened Great American Conference play Friday with a three-game series against Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.
“We have a great group of young men,” head coach Ryan Bowen said. “They take care of business in the classroom off the field, but they are really working hard to make positive strides on the field too.”
Bowen said that, to get ready for the opening conference series, the players were trying to get as many reps in as they could. This includes pitching practices to prepare for the different types of pitches the other team uses.
The Rangers lost their five-game winning streak Friday with a 6-1 loss in the first game of the series.
In the first inning, the Ranger offense went down before Ouachita Baptist came up with the first run in the game.
The Tigers had their first two base runners reach single and a hit batter along with an RBI single through the left side.
Colby Grace singled in the inning for the Rangers’ first hit of the afternoon. The Tigers threated to score in the third inning, but Dylan Collins helped keep the Tigers from scoring with a groundout to shortstop.
They held the game at 1-0 for three innings.
In the seventh inning, the Rangers finally scored off a fielder’s choice.
In the final innings of the game, the Tigers came back and closed out the game with a victory of 6-1.
On Saturday, the Rangers went up against the Tigers again and came out victorious.
In the second inning Trevor Saire hit an RBI groundout to get the game’s first run of the day.
In the fourth inning, the game was in favor of the Tigers with 2-1, and the pitchers were working to get a lead with a base runner to keep the game the same.
In the fifth inning, the Tigers gained one more point with a home run.
The score remained 3-1 until the seventh inning when the Rangers tied the game. Jon Shaffer led with a single. Gavin Mendoza led the eighth inning off with a double.
The Rangers took the victory of 4-3 with a score from Joseph Frisby.
The last game was a loss for the Rangers.
In the second inning, Saire’s single started the game for the Rangers.
The Tigers’ offense stepped up and made five runs in the second inning, taking a 6-1 lead.
A hit batter made the score 2-2 before a grand slam from the Tigers pushed them in front, 6-2.
In the fourth inning, the Rangers tried to rally, but a line out that became a double play killed the chance.
The Rangers scored one more run on a Brayden Koenig fielder’s choice in the sixth inning.
The game ended with the score 6-3 in favor of Ouachita Baptist.
On Tuesday, the Rangers returned home to take on the Hornets of Emporia State. The Rangers hit six home runs against the Hornets on their way to a 6-3 victory.
The next home game for Northwestern is on Friday when the Rangers play Henderson State at Myers Stadium at 3 p.m. The two teams will play a doubleheader Saturday starting at 1 p.m.