By JACOB COMP, Student Reporter
The Northwestern baseball team started its season in the late half of Feb.
after inclement weather postponed the team’s season opener.
The Northwestern baseball has played 15 games on the year. The Rangers have 25 games left this season.
The team hosted its home opener in a series of three games against Rogers State University that begun on Feb. 21. The Rangers won the first match-up, but lost the next two.
The Rangers’ next games were against the Boll Weevils of the University of Arkansas at Monticello that begun on Feb. 26. They won two out of the three games played on Glass Family Field in Alva.
The team’s first away games were on March 6 and 7 against the Tigers of East Central University. The Rangers won one and lost two in Ada.
Southeastern Oklahoma State University came to play against the Rangers on March 14 and 15. The Rangers walked away from that series with two more wins on the year.
Henderson State University came to play the Rangers over spring break on March 19 and 20. The Rangers scored 19 runs during the series, helping them win two out of the three games played.
The team’s record currently sits at 7 – 8 overall, with six of those wins being conference wins and six of those loses being conference loses.
Head coach Ryan Bowen and the Rangers aim to be the first NWOSU baseball team to make it to the Great American Conference tournament.
Four out of the last seven series match-ups for the Rangers will be played on Glass Family Field at Myers Stadium in Alva.
“The Ranger fans and Alva community are great supporters,” Daschal Johnson, a senior outfielder, said. “They are always supporting us and backing us. They can expect big things to come from this program as all aspects of our team are finally getting in sync with each other.”
Northwestern sits at eighth place in the Great American Conference standings. The team is only two wins behind tying for third with Southern Arkansas University and Southwestern Oklahoma State University.
Jake White, a senior catcher from Frisco, Texas, said he has a lot of confidence in this Ranger baseball team.
“Whether we are the one seed or the eight seed, we have all the tools and personnel to be the best in the league,” White said.” We can do big things for Northwestern that hasn’t ever been done before.”
On the season, the Rangers have swung for a .295 team batting average. They have brought in 96 runs on the year.
Northwestern has five players with a batting average over .300 with at least 10 at bats. On the pitching side, Northwestern currently has a team ERA, earned run average, of 5.88.
Preston Lonadier leads the team with a batting average of .385 with 39 at bats. He has nine runs this season with eight RBIs.
Yugo Hamakawa and Johnson both have batting averages over .350 on the year.
The Ranger baseball team will begin their next series at Ouachita Baptist University on March 26.