GOODWELL, Okla.— Panhandle faced a non-conference setback this week as they fell 19-8 to Northwestern Oklahoma State on Aggie Field on Tuesday. The Aggies were dealt some self-inflicting wounds as they gave up an unfortunate 16 walks on the game and allowed 13 of the Ranger runs on two outs.
The Aggies gained a six-run advantage on the Rangers through two innings, as
Kasey Leatherwood drew a bases-loaded walk,
Parker Boles took a hit-by-pitch to walk in a run, Jake Dean doubled down the right field line and
Payton Rhodes, and
Claytin Beaver slapped RBI singles in the bottom of the first before NWOSU got one run on the board in the top of the third.
Garrison Armstrong came in to relieve starter
Blake Tucker but struggled on the mound, giving the Rangers five runs to take them within sight of the lead before exiting the game due to injury.
Charlie Marini took to the bump but the defensive struggle continued as Marini loaded the bases in the top of the fifth and an untimely error by Beaver as he attempted a throw down to first gave the Rangers the go ahead run, 7-6. In the bottom of the frame, outfielder
Jaylon Burnett knotted the game back up at 7-7 as he roped an RBI single down the third base line to score pinch runner
Logan Koch.
The Aggies kept the pitching wheel turning in the sixth, bringing in
Rancys Nunez for his fifth outing of the season, but with two outs and a runner on third, a balk walked in another go-ahead for the Rangers to take them 8-7. After Nunez gave up a double and issued back-to-back walks,
Corey Ley came out of the pen for the Aggies to a bases-loaded situation, and a 3-RBI triple to deep center took the score 11-7 by the end of the inning.
The NWOSU bats remained patient but hot as the Rangers worked their counts and were able to score another five runs off five hits, including a 2-RBI homer by Cintron to further advance their lead, 16-7 by the end of the seventh.
Tyler Bryant came to the mound in the top of the eighth and was able to work his way out of the half-inning.
The Aggies were able to load the bases in the bottom of the frame and a single from
Aaron Moreno was enough to plate
Bradley Ruiz. The last pitching change by the Aggies would bring in
Jeremy Norris in the top of the ninth, who gave the Rangers' Bundy a three-run homer over left center to seal their fate at 19-8.
Now 17-19 on the season and 8-10 in conference, the Aggies face a pivotal series this weekend as they take on Southwestern Christian (Kan.) in a SAC three-game series with a double header on Friday (Apr. 12/ 12 p.m., 3 p.m.) and a single on Saturday (Apr. 13/ 12 p.m.).
Live stats and video of all three games will be available on opsuaggies.com, or follow us on social media via Facebook @OPSUAggieAthletics or Twitter @OPSUAthletics for live game updates.
