SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist has won every series over Northwestern Oklahoma State since the D2-merging season of 2016. This weekend, the two squads will meet once again for a three-game GAC series at Bobby Cox Field starting on March 1 at 6 p.m.
The Bison (10-5, 3-3 GAC) are coming off a dominant, 20-10 win over No. 8 (NCBWA) Missouri Southern on Feb. 27. In that contest,
Isiah Lissade became the first OBU player in the D2 era to hit for the cycle while pitcher
Logan Kimbro was very good, tossing 4.2 innings, allowing one run and inducing 10 fly-ball outs.
In the other dugout, Northwestern (11-5, 3-3 GAC) enters Friday's game after a 3-2 loss at Rogers State.
Here are some of the Bison's top marks from the Great American Conference and nationally as they begin their fourth week of competition:
| Doubles (36) - No. 12 (D2) & No. 1 (GAC) |
Will Joseph (7) – 17th in D2 - 1st in the GAC |
| Homers (20) – No. 18 (D2) & No. 5 (GAC) |
Alex Schroeder (5) - 22nd in D2 & 3rd in the GAC |
| Runs Scored (125) – 29th (D2) & No. 2 (GAC) |
Lissade & Schroeder (18) – 8th in the GAC |
| Scoring (8.3) – 47th (D2) & No. 2 (GAC) |
Slugging (.511) – 36th (D2) & 3rd in the GAC |
| Hits (147) – 44th (D2) & No. 5 (GAC) |
Lissade (24) – 23rd (D2) & 1st in the GAC |
On the pitching mound, OBU's staff has a host a solid arms.
William Ellis,
Bryant Thornton and
Ryan Turbeville are tied for 23rd nationally with two saves each.
Cameron Pool is slotted ninth with three wins while
Brek Galbreath and
Nolan Feazle have a pair of wins, top-58 marks.
Northwestern presents a unique challenge as it has a very good defense. Through 16 games, the Rangers have turned 11 double plays. That's third-most in the GAC and 38th nationally. Their 4.33 earned run average is also 38th in the nation and is slotted second in the league. In 12 of the Rangers' 16 games, opponents have scored no more than five runs.
Garrett DeHaas boasts an ERA of 4.50 with 13 strikeouts, a staff-high while Jacob Fuller, who has made four appearances with two starts, has an ERA of 3.38. Fuller also has held opponents to a .196 batting average and collected 12 punchouts. Additionally, Drew Price has made four starts, registered an era of 4.76 and gone 1-1 on the mound.
Offensively, Dylan Bradford has team-highs in batting average (.356), hits (21) and doubles (6) while Colby Grace has notched seven homers, sixth-best in the country, with a team-best .731 slugging mark. Grace has also drove in 16, a team-high and slotted 10th in the GAC.
As a unit, Northwestern's 23 homers are No. 12 in Division II as well.
