Oklahoma Panhandle State University

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 Goodwell, Okla.—OPSU Baseball kicked off the 2015 season in high winds and low temperatures Sunday and Monday in a three-game series against Northwestern Oklahoma State University. The weather conditions seemed to favor the opposing team as the Rangers swept the series with three wins over the Aggies (8-2, 8-0, 3-0).

A two-run homer to left-field in Sunday's game got the scoring started for Northwestern; the Rangers followed up with a three-run homer (also to left) in the fourth inning and held a 7-0 advantage over the Aggies through the seventh. Each team brought in one run in the eighth with Sam Moreno scoring the first run of the season for the Aggies off a single by Seth Gunderson; Moreno reached on a single to right field and stole second with Gunderson at bat. The Aggies would score one run in the ninth in similar fashion as Chris McClendon, who reached on a single to right and also stole second, reached home on a ground-out by James Beasley. The Rangers took game one by six runs with a score of 8-2.

The Aggies finished game one with five hits and two RBI. Senior pitcher Walker Rainwater got the first start for the Aggies and went 3.2 innings giving up three hits and four earned runs. Freshmen Dallas Guerrero took the mound in the fifth and gave up just one run in four innings. Jonny Mireles, also a freshman, closed out game one allowing zero hits and serving up two strikeouts in the final inning. Rainwater took the loss for game one, while Alexander Svetgoff earned the win for NWOSU with one hit and zero earned runs in 2.1 innings.

Back on the field for two seven-inning games on Monday, the Aggies struggled at the plate totaling five hits for the day and zero runs. Northwestern brought in four runs in the third inning of the first game, assisted by an error on third base. Two sac bunts in the fourth scored another run for NWOSU; the Rangers followed up with three runs in the fifth inning and took an 8-0 win for the game.

Matthew Bickford earned the shut-out win for Northwestern pitching all seven innings of the first game; Bickford totaled five strikeouts and three hits. Three sophomores shared time on the mound for OPSU: Sam Beattie got the start and was relieved by Scott Cutright after 4.2 innings. Brayden Schuler came in for the final two innings and allowed zero hits on his watch. Beattie dished four strikeouts, but took the loss for the Aggies with eight hits and six earned runs.

Sophomore Patrick Gonzalez was the starting pitcher for OPSU in Monday's second game, pitching 5.2 innings and taking the three-run loss. The Rangers brought in two runs in the second inning with three hits and one error, scoring the third run in the fourth inning. Brody Ausfahl earned the win for the Rangers allowing two runs in his seven innings. The Aggies' two hits came from a double by Chase Graf and a single by B.J. Henry.

OPSU Head Coach Jason Miner commented after the game, "We didn't come out ready to play, which comes back to all of us. That is something we will work on and get better." Miner felt that his team's pitching was "hit or miss" stating, "I was really impressed with some guys, but there are others who need to go back to work. We had a hard time throwing strikes, but I think overall that our pitching will be OK."

When asked his thoughts on the Aggies' hitting performance Miner said, "I thought it would be a lot better. We didn't hit like I know we can; we struck out looking too many times which is something we need to improve on or we will struggle."

The Aggies look forward to more home-field action this weekend as they host a round robin tournament with Newman University and the Colorado School of Mines. The tournament kicks off Saturday, Feb. 7 with three games starting at 9 a.m. and concludes on Sunday with two games beginning at 11 a.m. OPSU will play in games one and three on Saturday and both games on Sunday. Coach Miner is looking forward to the tournament saying, "It should be a nice weekend for baseball and a chance for us to compete against some solid teams." Aggie fans are invited to pack the stands and enjoy some great weather and great baseball!