Rangers Falter in Playoff Semis

 The Dayton Rangers were ousted for the second straight season in their last attempt at reaching the championship series. The Rangers battled the Kettering Royals for a doubleheader split on Saturday, September 13, only to come up short in a Sunday morning loss to the Boys in Blue.

The Rangers fell 5-2 in game one on Saturday, a game in which several players were forced to play out of position, resulting in too many defensive miscues to overcome. Game two was a little better as the Rangers won 4-1 with the help of a 3-run sixth inning. In that crucial inning, Joe Staten led off with a double to right and Jim Brown followed with a walk. After a wild pitch, the Royals elected to intentionally walk Clint Wolf to load the bases to face Aaron Armstrong. Aaron’s attempt at a suicide squeeze trickled foul before dropping a single into shallow right field to give the Rangers the lead, and eventually the win. Jacob Robinson improved his season record to 12-2 with his second four-hitter of the postseason.

The Rangers fell on hard times in the deciding game three on Sunday, as the hitters struggled against sidewinder Brendan Regan. The Rangers struck out 12 times and left 11 men on base in an 11-6 loss. Jelani Arnold, Jonmarc Lippincott, Jared Bradley and Clint Wolf produced the RBIs as Jonmarc and Jacob Robinson each had two hits. Jelani also walked three times and stole two bases.