Alva Review-Courier -

ALVA, Okla. – Off to its best start since the 2013 season, Northwestern Oklahoma State University baseball concluded its conference opening series in fashion Sunday as the Rangers out-slugged Harding in the series rubber match, 25-11. The game ended via mercy rule in eight innings.

The victory gave the Rangers a series victory to open Great American Conference play after the two teams split a doubleheader on Saturday. NWOSU won just one GAC during the 2017 season when they swept Southern Nazarene.

Northwestern improved its record to 7-4 overall and 2-1 in conference play after the offensive explosion. The 36 runs in the game was the most combined run total in GAC history.

It was the highest scoring contest for a Rangers team since they plated 21 runs on April 14, 2015, against Southern Nazarene. The last time Northwestern crossed the plate more than 25 times was in a 29-3 win over Nebraska Wesleyan on March 14, 2007.

Because of weather, the midweek showdown originally scheduled for Wednesday at Cameron was postponed, with no makeup date announced.

The weather has also caused an alteration to the weekend schedule as the Rangers will now play host to Arkansas Tech (6-5 overall, 1-2 GAC) in a doubleheader beginning at noon on Saturday, followed by a single nine-inning contest beginning at 3 p.m. the next afternoon.

In the high scoring affair on Sunday, Northwestern blasted five home runs in the game, including two in the second inning and two in the third. Justin Bundy started the barrage with a solo shot in the second, and Harrison Hull followed a few batters later with a three-run homer over the wall in left center.

Bundy led the Rangers with a five-for-six day at the plate, with four RBI and four runs scored.

After dropping a grand slam in the first game of the series on Saturday, Johnnuelle Ponce made two in consecutive days with another grand slam in the third inning. He finished the game with six runs batted in, the most by a player in a single game in the conference this season.

Ponce, a redshirt junior, earned the GAC conference player of the week with eight hits, five runs and 11 RBIs in four games for the Rangers last week.

Daschal Johnson picked up his second home run of the season later in the third inning with a three-run blast.

Jorin Van Amstel has been solid for the Rangers this season at the plate, and that continued on Saturday with a two-run home run in the sixth innings. Van Amstel went four-for-six in the game, including a RBI single in the third, to improve his season average to .442, the four highest in the GAC with at least 20 at bats.

Luis Mendoza had four hits, scored three times and drove in a run in the win. Luis Cintron reached safely on three hits and scored four times, T.J. Kassner hit two hits, two RBI and two runs and Greg Garrington had a hit to round out the offense.

Ryan Marcoccia was the winning pitcher with four runs on four hits and four strikeouts in five innings of work. Tyler Bernhardt had a perfect inning of work in the eighth, striking out all three batters he faced.