Rangers Season Comes to End

For the second straight season, the Rangers run to the league championship ended at the hands of the Warren County Shockers. The Rangers were close in both games of the doubleheader, but ultimately fell 9-4 and 12-9 on Saturday, September 17^th at Action Sports Center.

The Shockers got to Rangers’ starter Shawn Schmitt in the first inning of game one as five runs were plated before the Rangers were able to bat. The Rangers chipped away in the second inning as Aaron Armstrong walked with the bases loaded and Zach Carroll’s fielder’s choice produced another run. The Rangers made it 5-3 as Jonmarc Lippincott’s RBI double scored Clint Wolf from second base. The Shockers got a little breathing room in the top of the fourth inning on a Chris Kuhn RBI single. The Rangers made it a two-run ballgame again in the bottom of the fourth as Lippincott’s high chopper to third allowed Joe Staten to score to make it 6-4. But the Shockers put the game away in their final at-bat on a 3-run HR by Matt Stiffler.

In game two, the tides seemed to turn in the Rangers favor off Shockers’ starter Chris Flaherty. Jonmarc singled with one out in the top of the first, his 600^th career hit as a Ranger. Clint Wolf followed with a hit, and Josh Cawein loaded the bases on a fielding miscue. Jelani Arnold then singled home Lippincott. Schmitt followed suit with an RBI single of his own. The third run scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch strikeout. The Shockers answered with two runs as Stiffler once again found homerun territory in right field. The Rangers continued to score runs in the second inning, all with two outs. Lippincott and Wolf started it with singles. Cawein drove in Lippincott and Jelani plated Wolf. Schmitt then added 2 more RBIs to his total with a two-run double to make it a 7-2 advantage. The Shockers would not go away as they scored four runs in the third and two more in the fourth to take a 8-7 lead. The Rangers tied the game in the fifth inning on Lippincott’s RBI single. However, the Shockers got to reliever Ben Schooler in the sixth inning as Flaherty, Stiffler, and Thomas Fluty all doubled, and Chad Paden tripled to cushion their lead to 12-8. James Robinson added an RBI single in top of the seventh for the Rangers, but that was all the team could muster.

The Rangers had their chances, but ultimately stranded a staggering 25 runners on base on the day.

Offensive highlights: Jonmarc Lippincott 4-for-8, 2 runs, 3RBI, double; Clint Wolf 5-for-7, 3 runs, double, 2 SB; Jelani Arnold 2-for-8, 2RBI; Shawn Schmitt 3-for-7, run, 3RBI, double, SB

Historical Notes: Jonmarc Lippincott picked up his 600^th career hit and 400^th run scored in game two. Jelani recorded his 100^th career RBI. Josh Cawein reached on fielder’s choices twice in game two – the only times all season he reached on base via an error or FC. Shawn’s double in game two was his 12^th of the season, tying him with Jonmarc (1999) and Clint (2010) with most double in a season.