By Connor Gray, Senior Reporter
The Northwestern baseball season has started, but not with the opening the Rangers wanted.
Northwestern took a trip to Denver to play Metropolitan State for the first three-game series of the season.
The first game started off on Friday with little offense for three innings, with the only run coming in the first for the Roadrunners.
In the fourth, Hagen Barcello got an RBI single to even the game up at 1-1. That was the only run the Rangers scored in the game.
Dylan Collins gave up a two-run home run for the Roadrunners to go up 3-1. Collins finished the inning before being replaced by Cade Phelps.
The Roadrunners collected three more runs and won the first game, 6-1.
The second game between the Rangers and the Roadrunners on Saturday was an offensive heavy performance.
In the bottom of the first, the Roadrunners scored three runs off a two-run homer and an RBI double.
In the next inning, the Rangers responded with three runs of their own, with an RBI single from Brandon Hold and a two-run double from Thomas Beiswanger.
Northwestern the next inning got four more runs. Barcello hit a solo home run. Hayden Priest got an RBI single, with a throwing error and a wild pitch making the score 7-3.
In the fourth, the Roadrunners scored four runs of their own to even up the score. The Rangers responded. The Rangers got an RBI single from Beiswanger. Priest scored on a fielder’s choice, and Joseph Frisby knocked in a run with a single to right center.
Down 10-7, the Roadrunners responded with a huge seventh inning by scoring six runs.
The final of the game was 13-10, with the Rangers losing.
In the final game Sunday, both teams scored one run going into the third. Roadrunners got one in the first, but the Rangers fired back in the second with a Brayden Koenig home run.
In the fourth, the Roadrunners scored four runs to put themselves up 5-1.The Rangers got three runs back, one off a sacrifice fly and a two-run double from Colby Grace to make it 5-4.
The Roadrunners got five runs during the next three innings, three of which came from a three-run homer in the fifth.
The Rangers only managed two more runs for the rest of the game, and the Roadrunners added one more to finish the game, 11-6, completing the sweep.
The Rangers’ next game is Thursday at home at 2 p.m.