By OAKLEE FIELDER, Sports Editor
Last weekend, the NWOSU Baseball team faced off against the Southwestern Oklahoma State University Bulldogs in a three-game series at home at the Glass Family Field at Myers Stadium. This was their final games of the 2025 regular season.
Logan Sandoval started on the mound for the Rangers.
The game started scoreless in the first inning, as the Rangers left two men on base. In the second, SWOSU scored the first run of the game. The Rangers were not able to respond as they were three up and three out in the bottom of the second.
In the third, neither team scored, as the Bulldogs left one man on base and NWOSU two. SWOSU extended their lead to two in the top of the fourth, and left two men on base.
The Rangers did not respond in the bottom half of the inning. SWOSU was scoreless in the fifth. The Rangers scored their first run with a single by Carson Wright who sent Harley Shaffer home.
The sixth went by scoreless. The Bulldogs also did not score in the top of the seventh, but the Rangers did, and more. Wright hit a ground out to second base but that let Trevor Saire run home to tie the game.
In the next at bat, Connor Green hit a single to send Dylan Bradford home and the Rangers now had the lead in the closing stages of the first game.
In the eighth, Jacob Shaw was subbed for Sandoval. Shaw only pitches to one batter when he was replaced by Dawson Toborg.
In the bottom of the eighth, Bradford hit a ground out to second base which allowed Colby Grace to run home and extend the Ranger’s lead to two.
The rest of the game went by scoreless and game one ended with a Ranger 2-4 win.
Game two started with Kaden Spray on the mound.
Innings one and two went by with no runs scored, but NWOSU had one hit in both innings. In the top of the third, the Bulldogs scored a run to take the lead of the game by one.
They scored another in the top of the fourth, both scores went unanswered from the Rangers.
Spray was replaced by Elias Herrera in the fourth as well. Both the fifth and sixth went by scoreless.
In the seventh, Connor Green hit a single down the left field line to send Saire home. Chad Green hit a single up the middle just after that to send Chase Gordon home.
Hagen Barcello hit a single to the pitcher which allowed Connor Green to run home. Grace hit a sacrifice fly out to send Chad Green home. Shaffer hit a single to the right to send Paul Sachen home.
Saire hit a single to right field and sent Barcello home. After all of that, the Rangers were up by four, 2-6 with two innings left in the game.
In the eighth, Sachen was thrown out at first base, but that allowed Connor Green to run home and extend the Rangers lead to five.
In the top of the ninth, the Bulldogs were only able to take a small nibble out of NWOSU’s lead as they scored one run in an attempt to catch the Rangers. The Rangers won 3-7. Kyle Holzer started on the mound for the Rangers in the third and final game of the series.
The Bulldogs did not score in the top of the first. Connor Green hit a single up the middle and sent Sachen and Zach Vetal home to make it a 0-2 ballgame.
Connor’s brother Chad was up to bat next and he hit a homerun to take him and Connor home to make it a four-run game in just the first.
In the second, the Bulldogs did not score once again. Vetal hit a ground out but that sent Saire home to make the Ranger’s lead five.
In the top of the third, the Bulldogs scored one run. It was responded immediately as Barcello hit a ground out to shortstop which allowed Chad Green to run home.
In the fourth, Sachen hit a single to right field to send Saire home and make it a six-run game.
Colby Mitchell was subbed for pitcher in place of Holzer.
The Bulldogs scored in the top of the fifth, but a double from Barcello to send Gavin Mendoza home kept the difference at six.
The sixth was scoreless. Shaw was sent in to replace Mitchell. In the top of the seventh, SWOSU made an attempt to reel the Rangers in by scoring two runs, but it was not enough. The Rangers completed the sweep on the Bulldogs.
With these three wins, the Rangers secured their spot in the GAC Baseball Championships as the number seven seed out of eight.
They will face Southern Arkansas on Thursday, May 1, in the double elimination tournament in Enid at David Allen Ballpark.
On Friday, May 2, they will play again. The opponent on who wins and loses in the games.
