Rangers split the first two of a four-game series with Clarendon
Things didn't get off to a good start for Ranger in the first inning of a four-game set against Clarendon College, the Rangers found themselves down 3-0. RC began to chip away scoring four runs over the next three innings to grab a 4-3 lead. They broke the game wide open in the sixth on the way to a 9-3 win in Game 1 of a doubleheader.
"Andrew Dean rally battled for us on the mound," said Ranger head coach Josh Blakley. "We made a few errors in the first inning, but once he settled in he did a good job and got a lot of outs."
Dean went all seven innings. He allowed just four hits and struck out nine.
Andruid Martinez and Hagen Tucker each went 2-for-4 with a double and a pair of RBIs.
Ryan Dufrene had a pair of knocks and RBIs.
DECIDING MOMENT
Clinging to a 4-3 lead in the sixth, Ranger jumped on the Bulldogs. Carter Gwynne led off with a single, a throwing error and balk moved him to third with no one out. Dufrene drove him in to double the lead, 5-3.
With two on and two out, the wheels fell off for Clarendon. An error by the CC shortstop kept the inning going and put runners on the corners. Martinez made them pay driving in Dufrene adding to the lead. Hagen put the game out of reach with his two-out 2-RBI double that made it 8-3. For good measure, Luis Vargas added a two-out RBI that drove in the fourth run after the Dogs should have been out of the inning down just two.
"Offensively it was a tough day today. Cold with the wind blowing in, I thought we did a good job of grinding out at-bats. We did things well with the wind blowing in," Blakley said.
GAME 2
The second half of the doubleheader got off to a very similar start to the first half. Clarendon scored four runs in the first two innings to build a 4-0 lead in the fourth. Ranger cut the lead in half when they scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning, but the Rangers were kept off the board until the ninth in a 10-4 loss in Game 2.
"Their pitcher was the difference. He did a good job, but we didn't execute our approach. He got us to do what he wanted us to do. He speed us up and slowed us down and got us to pop up to right field or ground out to third base," Blakley said.
Martinez, Tucker, Dufene and Cayde Williams all had a RBI. The Rangers pounded out 12 hits but struggled with runners on base.
Amado Almanzar suffered the loss. He went four and 1/3 and allowed six runs on seven hits. He struck out seven.
The Rangers are now 9-7 and will be back at it against the Bulldogs on Saturday starting at noon.