ALVA, Okla. — After a huge 10-1 victory in their series opener, SNU added two more wins to the weekend, sweeping the Rangers 5-2 in Game 1 and 16-12 in Game 2 of their doubleheader. Not seen since 2013, the Storm (7-26, 4-17) earned a GAC series sweep after knocking off the Rangers (14-18, 9-12) in all three contests, propelled by impressive offensive and defensive performances from head coach Grant Ledbetter's squad.
Game 1
Southern Nazarene continued their surge from the opening game as EJ Taylor used a Northwestern error to his advantage tacking on SNU's first run of the afternoon.
The Rangers would score two of their own that same inning after a single with two on base bumped the score to 2-1.
Tyler Broyles tied the game in the 4th at two a piece after his ground out would give Entwistle the trip home.
Southern Nazarene reclaimed the lead in the 6th after Peyton Vinyard's single would plate Oliver Wilson, moving the game to a slim 3-2 score.
Northwestern still sat at two runs for the game, leaving SNU to put up another in the 7th as DJ Van Atten flied one out to center field to give Colby Entwistle the score and SNU was rewarded the 4-2 advantage.
The eight inning was silent between both squads, but Entwistle made some noise in the 9th with a lead off bomb over the left field fence to put the Storm up 5-2. SNU reached their out, leaving one more chance for Northwestern to make their way back in the game.
The Rangers couldn't get much to go at bat, handing the Game 2 victory over to the Crimson Storm with a final 5-2 reading.
SNU had four appear on the mound that afternoon, with Payne Maga getting the start and the win as he pitched through five innings, recording two strikeouts.
Hutch Underwood pitched the final two and halted the Rangers, recieving the save with no hits or runs allowed.
Entwistle's bomb in the final inning gave him the solid 2-2 finish. Vinyard and Van Atten also recorded an RBI on the afternoon.
Game 2
The Rangers changed things offensively in the Game 2, scoring five runs before SNU would see their first. Cole Embrey ended SNU's scoring drought with a huge double that would send in Jonathan Crist and Drake Irby for the score. Brian Brown's single would make it 5-3 as he plated Embrey in that same inning.
Rangers continued to widen the gap putting up four runs in the third to extend their lead to 8-3.
The Storm's bats grew cold in the forth while the Rangers' scoring spree continued as they snuck in three more runs to draw their lead even farther to 12-3.
EJ Taylor kicked off SNU's attempt at a comeback, smacking one over the fence to bring it to 12-4. Shortly after, Entwistle slugged one of his own with Brown on base, giving the Storm two more runs.
Northwestern couldn't answer at the plate and SNU capitalized. The Storm put up three singles to earn them three runs, closing the cap to a two-run game at 12-10. Van Atten earned a walk to first base with the bases loaded, giving Entwistle the trip home and the comeback was successful as SNU trailed by just one run at 12-11.
Taylor was not finished at the plate, tieing the game with a double as he sent in Embrey, making the score read 12 on both sides in the final innning.
The Storm took the lead after Tyler Broyles' single plated Brown and Taylor. With bases loaded, Irby got a walk, scoring Entwistle to move their lead to 15-12. Broyles made it 16-12 after his line out sent in Crist.
With their last chance to take the win, the Rangers faced an excellent SNU fielding performance as they reach three quick outs, handing SNU the Game 3 victory to make it a series sweep over Northwestern.
Entwistle kept grinding it out at the plate, finishing 2-4 overall with a total of four RBI's and another homerun.
Taylor dominated per usual, finishing 3-4 that game with three RBI's and a homerun.
Embrey recorded a 2-5 finish with two RBI's and a double in the process while Broyles punched two RBI's with a 1-1 finish.
Oliver Wilson was cracking the bat every chance he saw, finishing 3-4 with an RBI. Irby finished 2-3 with an RBI while Van Atten and Crist both added an RBI as well.
Eight Storm members made an appearance at the bump. Hutch Underwood pitched the final two innings, holding the Rangers to zero runs after they had a chance to reclaim the lead in the 9th inning.
SNU will host a non-confernece doubleheader on Monday, April 4th against Champion Christian College.
