Homer binge helps RC to sweep of Clarendon

Brandon Holdren and Luis Vargas took full advantage of gusty winds at Ellis Burks Field on Monday. Both smashed key home runs and helped carry the Ranger College baseball team to a sweep of an afternoon doubleheader.

With the sweep, Ranger College ran its season record to 9-4 heading into Saturday's non-conference finale against Western Texas College. Ranger opens Northern Texas Junior College Athletic Conference action on March 6 in Gainesville against North Central Texas College.

Thanks to winds that gusted to more than 25 miles per hour, the long ball was alive and well for both Ranger and Clarendon. The two teams combined for nine homers, including six by the Rangers.

Clarendon jumped on top early in Game 1, scoring three times in the top of the first. Clarendon shortstop Shawn Ross highlighted the Bulldogs' start by clubbing a three-run homer just minutes into the showdown. Ross powers a shot over the fence in right field after Clarendon's Omar Sanchez and Derek Lamontage had opened the game with wind-aided singles off RC starter Austin Smith.

Smith settled into a solid groove from third. After Clarendon had led off the game with back-to-back-to-back hits, the RC freshman retired the next eight batters he faced.

The Rangers got their offense going in the bottom of there. After Clarendon's Jason Porter had retired RC's first two batters, he worked himself into some trouble by hitting the next two batters – J.J. Padilla and Isaiah Ortega-Jones. Holdren made the two miscues costly seconds later by smashing a three-run home run.

Holdren's homer tied the game at 3-3.

Clarendon answered back in the top of the fourth. The Bulldogs pushed across three runs of its own in the inning and took a 6-3 lead.

Ranger flexed its muscle again in the bottom of the frame. The Rangers turned three hits and a walk into a five-run outburst.

Tucker Burton led off RC's fourth by drawing a walk. After an out, Ranger College catcher Angel Velez singled. One batter later, Justin Cooper singled to left to drive home both runs. Ortega-Jones followed Cooper's hit with a walk and set the stage for another three-run home run by Holdren.

The sophomore infielder finished Game 1 by going 3-for-4 with six runs batted in.

Clarendon scratched out a pair of runs in the top of the fifth and tied the game at 8-8.

Burton and Noah Winkelman both scored in the home half of the fifth to seal the win for the Rangers.

Ranger continued its power surge in Game 2. The Rangers pounded out four homers  - two each by Vargas and Winkelman - and sprinted to an 11-7 victory.

Clarendon struck pay dirt first in the nightcap, scoring twice in the top of the second.

Ranger powered its way back in the bottom of the inning. RC catcher Ricky Rivera led off the Rangers' assault with a double off the wall. Alex Garcia delivered a run-scoring single with two outs moments later to put the Rangers on the board. Following a walk, Holdren delivered a run-scoring double that put RC on top 3-2.

Winkelman put RC on top to stay in the third. He crushed a two-run homer to left-center that broke a 3-3 tie and put the Rangers on top 5-3. The Rangers tacked on another run in the fourth and upped its lead to 6-3.

Clarendon made one more push in the fifth. The Bulldogs scored twice in the top half of the inning and pulled to within one run, at 6-5.

Vargas and Winkelman made sure Clarendon fans didn't smile for long. Vargas gave RC the momentum back quickly by cranking out a solo shot over the centerfield wall. One batter later, Winkelman went yard for the second time in the game and staked RC to an 8-5 cushion.

Rivera, who went 2-for-4 from the plate and threw out a would-be base stealer to save a run – and also scored for Ranger in the fifth sending the Rangers into the sixth holding a 9-5 advantage.

Vargas cemented RC's win with his second homer of the game in the bottom of the sixth.