By CONNOR GRAY, Assistant Editor
The Northwestern baseball team played a home series against Arkansas Tech in an offensive heavy series winning two of three against the Wonder Boys.
The series was a score fest for the Rangers in their first two games, as they outscored the Wonder Boys 37 to 11.
While the wind played a huge factor, pitching the Rangers was big for them.
Dylan Collins got the win for the Rangers, making him 5-1 on the season.
He gave up eight runs on 10 hits, but kept Arkansas Tech at bay. Cade Phelps also helped in relief, as he did not give up a run.
The Northwestern offense exploded throughout the game, as they recorded 23 hits in game one.
The Rangers nearly went through the whole line up in the first inning and got four RBI’s from Brett Erickson, Shaughn Kelly, Hayden Priest and Blake Hoffman making it 4-2.
Arkansas Tech answered with three runs in the second inning to make it 5-4.
after the second inning, the Rangers got four runs by Bryan Guerrero knocking one in sending it down the right field line and Brandon Holdren getting a three-run homer to make it 8-5.
Pitching continued to hold Arkansas Tech the following inning as Collins continued to keep them at bay.
The Rangers had a huge inning in the fifth, as they scored six runs to make it 14-5.
Five RBI’s would come from Priest, Joseph Frisby, Yugo Hamakawa, Chase Orrock and Hoffman, while one run came from a wild pitch.
Collins then gave up three more runs to make it 14-8, and Phelps took over and did not give up any more runs.
The Rangers finished with four more runs to win, 18-8.
“Our offense really took off against one of the better starters in the conference,” head coach Ryan Bowen said. “We really battled and found ways to link hits together.”
The second game involved a lengthy pitching performance from Emilio Lovato despite throwing into the wind.
Lavato threw a complete game, only giving up four hits and three runs through the entire game, as the hitting for Rangers took care of business.
“Emilio really pitched well for us,” Bowen said. “One of the best pitching performances I’ve seen since I have been here at Northwestern.”
The Rangers started game two with a two-run home run and a solo shot that set the tone for the rest of the game.
The Rangers had an explosive third inning by scoring eight runs after giving up two in the second.
The Rangers put together several hits in a row and kept scoring to make it 11-3.
Over the course of the game, the Rangers got six more runs to win, 19-3.
The Rangers struggled in the final game of the series, as Eric Swanson and six other pitchers collectively gave up 16 hits and 21 runs on a windy afternoon.
The Ranger bats were only able to get five runs, as they were not able to respond, as the final was 21-5.
On Tuesday, the Rangers played their final home game of the season against Rogers State.
The Hillcats got off to a hot start, as they scored five runs in the first three innings of the game.
In the sixth inning, the Hillcats struck again with a two-run home run to extend the lead to 7-0.
The Rangers answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the seventh, but lost, 8-1.
The next series for Northwestern will be an away series against Southwestern. The first game Friday is at 2 p.m. and a double header Saturday at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
