The Rangers got solid pitching performances from Shawn Schmitt and Ben Schooler and good defense to propel the team to a DH sweep of the Kettering Royals on Sunday, July 15 at Centerville high school.

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Shawn Schmitt started his first game of the season and ran into early trouble as Royals' leadoff batter Patrick Rogers took him deep to start the game. The Royals pitcher Tyler Evans was dangerous with the bat, smacking a 2-run triple in the first and a 3-run triple in the third as the Royals built a 7-0 lead through three innings.

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Schmitt sailed through the next 4 innings, allowing just 3 hits and finished with 7 punchouts on the day. All he needed was some offensive support.

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That happened in the bottom of the fourth as Brandon Marshall reached on a throwing error and came around to score on a passed ball. Dominic Kuzujanakis doubled and scored on Jonmarc Lippincott's 2-run home run to left field. It was Lippincott's first regular season home run since the 2010 season.

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The Rangers continued to chip away in the fifth as Nick Gilmore was hit by a pitch. After stealing second and third, Ben Schooler singled him home to cut the deficit to 7-4.  The Rangers batted around in the sixth, scoring 6 times. Marshall started with a double, followed by a Kuzujanakis RBI double. Lippincott singled home Kujo. With one out, Ian Rike roped an RBI double. After the next two batters were hit to load the bases, Schooler and Stephen Hoendorf worked bases-loaded walks to score the final two runs as the Rangers cap the comeback at 10-7.

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In need of someone to pitch game two, Ben Schooler stepped up and did an outstanding job, working a shutout into the 7th inning. With two outs in the 7th, Royals outfielder Wes McGarry smacked a long RBI triple to center just off the glove of a leaping Eric Becker who did all he could to preserve the shutout.

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Offensively, the Rangers did just enough to beat Michael Cookson, star lefty for the Royals. In the top of the first inning, Nick Gilmore reached on an error, and after stealing third, he scored on a wild pitch. Cody Pelfrey had an RBI single and Shawn Schmitt smacked a 2-run single in the second to give the Rangers a 4-0 advantage. In the fourth, Pelfrey was at it again, this time hitting an RBI double and then scoring later in the inning on a passed ball. Final score was 6-1.

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