ALVA, Oklahoma – The Ouachita baseball team opened its Great American Conference road series against Northwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday with a double header split, falling in the first 11-6 before rallying back to win the nightcap 6-4.
The rubber match of the series is set for Sunday at noon.
The Rangers used a pair of four-run innings to separate themselves from the Tigers late. Ouachita scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to go up 6-3, but the home team responded four runs in the bottom of the inning and another four runs in the eighth to earn the come-from-behind win.
The Tigers had 11 hits in the game, two hits each from
Garrett Graham,
Ashton Ybarra,
Joseph Bolin, and
Octavio Mendivil.
Kyndall Cassidy was 0-for-1 officially, but drove in runs in two other plate appearances on a sac fly and a sac bunt.
It was the Tigers turn to post a come-from-behind victory in game two, scoring all six of their runs in the sixth inning after being held hitless and without a baserunner in the first five innings.
Raygan Yager broke up NWOSU pitcher Logan Sandoval's perfect game bid with a leadoff double in the sixth.
Cole Bedwell delivered the big blow in the sixth with a bases-clearing single. Also in the inning, Ybarra, Mendivil, and
Jaren Ceasar produced an RBI in their respective at-bats.
The Rangers scored their first two runs with one coming across in the second and the other in the fifth, both unearned due to Tiger errors.
Chase Oberle got the start on the mound and surrendered no earned runs on five hits in the first 4.1 innings.
Lucas Mercado earned the win in relief, and
Braden Tucker came on for the six-out save to finish out the victory.
