By Dax Benway, Senior Reporter
Northwestern dropped two games Saturday to lose the series against Oklahoma Baptist. Despite a 14-8 victory on Friday, the Rangers did not get it done on Saturday.
Sitting at nine wins and 10 losses on the season and a conference record of 3-6, the Rangers are in 10th place in the Great American Conference.
Game one was high-scoring and action-packed for the Rangers, scoring five runs in the bottom of the first inning to set the tone for the game.
Ranger first baseman Hagan Barcello scored with a solo shot in the second inning. The Rangers already had a 6-1 advantage to keep their feet on the gas pedal after the Bison answered with two runs in the fourth to make the game closer at 6-3.
The Ranger offense continued to score by adding four runs in the fourth inning extending the lead to 10-4 going into the fifth inning.
The Rangers’ offensive outing continued as they scored three more runs, extending their lead to 13-4.
After the Bison tried to mount a comeback by scoring two runs in the seventh inning, Barcello stepped up to the plate and hit his second home run of the game, giving the Rangers the victory with a score of 14-8.
Barcello finished with a statline of batting 4-5 with two home runs, a triple, four runs and three RBIs in game one. Max McClain got the win on the mound for the Rangers, with Cade Phelps coming in for the save.
Games two and three on Saturday were not as good for the Rangers. Coming off a 14-run, 17-hit performance on Friday, the Rangers stayed hot with the hits and did not get runners across the plate.
Down 6-4 going into the sixth inning, the Rangers were in striking distance after falling behind 5-0 after the top of the first.
The Rangers ended up giving the Bison three runs in the sixth and then another three runs in the eighth inning, bringing the lead to 12-5 going into the ninth inning. The lead was too much for the Rangers, as Northwestern lost game two, 13-7.
Game three was the opposite of the first two games, as the Rangers only had two hits with zero runs.
The Bison went on to win the last game in the series after defeating the Rangers in game three, 3-0.