By Connor Gray, Senior Reporter
The Northwestern baseball team will start its 2023 campaign Friday in Denver against Metropolitan State.
Last season, the Rangers finished 22-28 overall and had a conference record of 15-18.
“We struggled early on in the season, which hurt us,” head coach Ryan Bowen said. “As the season progressed, we played better, especially towards the end of the season.”
While he and the team were disappointed about last season, he said they are optimistic about this year.
Bowen said the team’s current roster is probably the fastest team he has coached in what will be his sixth season as the Rangers’ head coach. Notable standouts who have stepped up for the team are Trevor Saire and Colby Jarnigan.
Saire will be batting leadoff and will be in center field this season. Bowen described him as the best center fielder the team has, as he played well during the fall and winter scrimmages.
Saire had 22 hits and 16 RBIs last season with a batting average of .237.
Jarnigan is a redshirt freshman who transferred last season from Cowley College.
He will be playing first base this season, and Bowen said he will be a key contributor.
Jarnigan racked up 68 hits and 59 RBIs last season to finish with a batting average of .352.
A returning pitcher from last season who was a standout for Northwestern is Dylan Collins.
“Dylan was a true freshman last year, which you don’t really see nowadays,” Bowen said. “You mostly see older guys now, so seeing Dylan pitch was really special.”
Collins went 5-2 for the Rangers last season in 14 appearances with 38 strikeouts and an ERA of 7.59.
Bowen named Collins as the starter for Friday.
The Rangers will be playing a three-game series over three days instead of the typical two days, with one day having a doubleheader. All the games will start at noon.
The Rangers’ next opponent will be in a midweek game against Newman on Feb. 7.