By RANGER ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT
Northwestern Oklahoma State kicked off their 2018 campaign on a high note Saturday, beating Christian Brothers University 2-0 and 6-3 on the road. On a day where both teams were battling cold weather, the new-look Rangers were able to capitalize on a few Buccaneers’ defensive mistakes and walked away from opening day with their first 2-0 start since 2015.
Northwestern saw success on both sides of the ball, getting quality starts from both Walker Wharton and Sean Rydell, and solid performances at the plate from Justin Bundy (2-for-5, 3 BB, 2 RBI), Jorin Van Amstel (2-for-6, 2 BB, 2 R) and Daschal Johnson (2-for-3, R, RBI).
After a long offseason, first-year head coach Ryan Bowen was pleased with the way his team responded.
“It was a great day with great results,” Bowen said. “I thought our guys played hard and had excellent energy all day. We ran the bases well and made some strong defensive plays. Overall it was a great day for the Rangers.”
GAME 1
The Rangers sent redshirt senior Walker Wharton to the hill in the first game, in what would turn out to be quite the pitcher›s duel. Despite giving up a two-out double in the first to Jared Cramer, Wharton settled in and cruised through the Bucs lineup, surrendering just one hit and three free bases in seven and one-third innings of work.
But runs weren’t easy to come by for the Rangers either. CBU right-hander Peyton Sanderlin held the black-and-red hitless through his first six innings, until they were finally able open the scoring in the top of the seventh. Harrison Hull followed a lead-off single with a double to left, before a wild pitch allowed Van Amstel to cross with the game›s first run.
Steven Deckard gave Northwestern some insurance in the eigth with a sac-fly to score Johnnuelle Ponce, making it 2-0 Rangers.
Saturday marked Wharton’s first action since March 2016 when he tore his UCL in a loss to Arkansas-Monticello. After sitting out all of 2017 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Wharton’s return to the mound was business as usual.
Pitching coach Aaron Gilbreath said: “Walker commanded the ball to both sides of the plate and forced soft contact early and often. He never lost focus and it was great to see a senior leader set the tone for us like that.”
With one out in the eigth, Bowen lifted Wharton in favor of Matthew Bickford who pitched out of a bases-loaded jam to end the threat.
After a scoreless ninth, the Rangers looked to freshman closer Bryson Wrobel for the final three outs. In his first college appearance, the young gun sat the side down in order while picking up two strikeouts and the save.
“He’s a competitive dude, he won the job this fall and I think that he’s going to have a lot of success as a Ranger” Bowen said. “He really attacked the zone today and he came right at people in both innings he pitched.”
GAME 2
Northwestern would strike first in the second game with two runs in the second inning. Justin Bundy laced a triple down the right field line and was driven in by Deckard on the very next pitch. After Van Amstel drew a walk, a fielding error by the CBU second basemen extended the inning allowing Luis Cintron to pick up an RBI, giving the Rangers a 2-0 advantage.
Sophomore Sean Rydell took to the mound in game two. Despite being touched up for two earned runs and four free passes, the Kingwood, Texas native›s four innings of work earned him his third win in a Ranger uniform.
Rydell was able to get consistent swing and misses from the Christian Brothers lineup, recording eight strikeouts while giving up just two hits. “Sean had an overpowering fastball today and was able to compete for four dominant innings. I was really pleased to see how he has progressed” Gilbreath said.
After another fielding error by the Buccaneers infield, Bundy made them pay with a 2-run single that scored Cintron and Daschal Johnson.
The Rangers added two more in the fifth to make it 6-0 before running into trouble on defense. A single and a pair of walks loaded the bases, leading to a catcher›s interference call on redshirt freshman Brendan Kates that scored CBU›s first run.
Reliever Nick Llorente took over for Rydell with nobody out, and eventually got the Rangers back into the dugout but not before the Buccaneers could add two more runs to cut the Northwestern lead to 6-3.
With nothing doing for either team in the sixth, Bowen again looked to Wrobel to close out the game. The freshman got three quick outs and earned his second save of the afternoon, matching the team-high from a year ago on the first day of the season.