ALVA – Northwestern Oklahoma State won by 6-5 and 1-0 tallies on Sunday during a Great American Conference doubleheader against Oklahoma Baptist.
GAME ONE
Northwestern Oklahoma State fended off a late surge from Oklahoma Baptist to secure a 6–5 home victory Sunday at Glass Family Field.
The Rangers built a 5–0 lead by the fifth inning, thanks to a balanced offensive effort. Carson Wright was the offensive catalyst, going 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, and three RBI, including a clutch two-run triple in the fifth. Chad Green added a solo homer in the fourth, while Colby Grace contributed three hits, including a double.
OBU rallied in the seventh with a five-run outburst.
Lucas Schaefer started the rally with a lead-off double and later scored on a fielder's choice. Key hits from
Jesse Tisdell, who had an RBI single, and
Matt Marsic's two-run triple tied the game.
DJ Van Atten followed with an RBI double to give the Bison a brief 5–5 tie before Northwestern responded in the bottom half.
Harley Shaffer led off the seventh with a single and came around to score the go-ahead run on Wright's RBI double, ultimately proving the difference.
Dawson Toborg (2-0) earned the win for the Rangers with 2.1 innings of scoreless relief, striking out three. OBU's
Ayden Wood (0-1) took the loss after surrendering the decisive run in the seventh.
OBU starter
David Stuart went six innings, giving up five runs on eight hits.
GAME TWO
Northwestern edged OBU 1–0 in the nightcap which featured outstanding pitching. The Rangers got stellar pitching from starter Colby Mitchell and a clutch second-inning home run by Green, his fifth of the season.
Mitchell (2–1) was dominant on the mound, throwing 6.1 scoreless innings and allowing just four hits with three strikeouts. Toborg picked up his third save, retiring two of the final three batters to seal the win.
Oklahoma Baptist had chances but couldn't capitalize, stranding runners in each of the final three innings. Schaefer led the Bison offense with two hits, while
Spencer Dickinson,
Zane Bennett and Marsic each added singles. Starter
Bryant Thornton (4–3) was solid despite taking the loss, surrendering just one run and striking out seven across 5.1 innings.
Dyland Bradford was the spark for Northwestern, going 2-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base, while also playing strong defense at first base.
The series will conclude tomorrow in Alva with first pitch coming at 1 p.m.
