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9/10-11/2022

Playoff  Semifinals

The Rangers have traversed down a unique path through the winding roads of the playoff picture. The team has had to battle its way through through 6 games to reach their goal of returning to the MVABL Championships. Facing the Wright Knights and the Xenia Scouts for the first time ever in postseason play, it proved to be a daunting task to get the offensive engine running on a consistent basis.  But give it up to the players for finding ways to win.

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Just like Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs, the Rangers needed to come from behind to win the all-important first contest 6-4 over the Scouts.  Brandon Saylor toed the rubber for Game 1 and quickly fell behind in the top of the first as the Scouts put together a couple of hits, but also took advantage of a couple walks and a HBP to jump out to a 3-0 lead. The Rangers loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the frame but couldn't push anything across. The Scouts made it 4-0 with a Jacob Williams single in the top of the third.

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It took til the bottom of the 5th before the Rangers could put together a scoring opportunity against Scouts pitcher Alex Schulke. Chris Ridl reached on a dropped third strike and moved to third after Dominic Kuzujanakis reached on an error. Jaret Quinn plated Ridl with a groundout.  After Mike Seebock doubled, Kyle Moyer drove home Kujo to make it 4-2. Grant Kincaid then singled home Seebock and Eric Becker followed with a run-scoring single to tie the game. 

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Saylor exited after the 5th inning, finishing with 9 K's, and Joe Becker came in for relief. Becker gave up a single in the sixth but kept the Scouts off the board setting up the comeback. Cooper Nolte led off the bottom of the 6th with a double. After a fly out, Ridl, who flew in from South Dakota for this series, drove in the go-ahead run with a single to center. Ridl later scored the insurance run on a Quinn groundout. Becker worked a 1-2-3 seventh to complete the win, his 10th career playoff victory. (Shawn Schmitt holds franchise record with 11 postseason W's).

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Game 2 saw Ben Schooler square off with Scouts lefty Aaron Christy. But Christy won the battle of veteran hurlers as the Rangers were stifled offensively, falling 9-0. Some poor defensive decisions were too much to overcome in this one as the Rangers could only muster 6 hits, 3 from Rob Pederson. 

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So just as the first round needed 3 games, the semifinal series required the same. If the first inning was any precursor to the rest of the day, it was going to be a barnburner. Joe Becker got the call to start game 3 and the Scouts bats came out swinging. Becker allowed a leadoff walk to Brandon Cusick and Anthony Ragan doubled. Schulke then gave himself up with a bunt, but both runners would come around to score and give the Scouts a quick 2-0 lead. Rangers killer Mark Carpenter then tripled and scored when Lou Ryan reached on an error. Christy singled and Rickey Risden III plated Ryan for a 4-0 advantage. 

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The Scouts started Dakota Reumann on the mound, and the Rangers needed to prove to themselves that his dominance of the team last month was just a fluke. Pederson singled with one out, and Schooler singled, and Markus Neff walked to load the bases. Nolte then smacked a grand slam to left center field to tie the game. The hit parade continued with Nick Gilmore and Moyer singling and Noah Schleinitz doubling them both home to give the Rangers a 6-4 lead. After advancing to third on an error, Schleinitz went homeward on a sac fly by Ridl as the first inning finally concluded with a 7-4 Rangers lead.

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The Scouts got another run back in the top of the second as another error let the visitors chip away. Undeterred, Rob Pederson belted a 3-run home run to double the lead to 10-5. In the bottom of the third, the Rangers added on. Nolte doubled and later scored on a passed ball, and Mike Seebock worked a bases-loaded walk for a 12-5 score. 

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In the 4th, after inducing a groundout and allowing a single to Zac Calvert, Becker was relieved by Mike Seebock. Gilmore threw out Calvert attempting to steal, and Seebock forced a groundout to end any sort of threat.  In the 5th, the Rangers played the error carousel again allowing the Scouts to get a run back and make it 12-6. In the bottom of the 6th, Quinn, Kincaid, and Eric  Becker singled in succession with two outs to produce 3 more runs as the Rangers build a 15-6 lead.

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The Rangers offense continued to roll into the bottom of the 7th. Schooler led off with a walk. With one out, Cooper doubled for his 3rd hit of the day. A Gilmore infield single loaded the bases. Moyer worked a 4-pitch walk to plate Schooler, and Schleinitz grounded out to score Coop.

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Kenny Owens followed Seebock, who finished with 3+ innings of hitless relief. Carpenter and Lou Ryan each doubled and scored on a fielding error in the top of the 8th. The Rangers got one of the runs back as Eric Becker plated a run on a grounder. Eric pitched the 9th and allowed just a walk as the Rangers won the game 18-8.

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Rangers 6,
Scouts 4

Scouts 9,
Rangers 0

Rangers 18, Scouts 8

Offensive highlights:  Game 1: Eric Becker 2-for-3, RBI; Markus Neff 2-for-3; Cooper Nolte 1-for-3, double; Chris Ridl 1-for-3, 2 runs, RBI; Jaret Quinn 2 RBI; Mike Seebock 1-for-3 double; Kyle Moyer 1-for-2 RBI; Grant Kincaid 1-for-1 RBI. Game 2: Rob Pederson 3-for-3; Ben Schooler 1-for-3 double; Cooper Nolte 1-for-2; Kujo 1-for-2. Game 3: Eric Becker 2-for-5, 3RBI; Rob Pederson 2-for-5, 2 runs, 3RBI, HR; Ben Schooler 1-for-2, 2 runs; Cooper Nolte 3-for-3, 3 runs, 4RBI, 2 doubles, GS HR; Nick Gilmore 2-for-4; Kyle Moyer 1-for-2 RBI; Noah Schleinitz 2-for-4, 3 runs, 3RBI, double; Chris Ridl 1-for-3 RBI; Mike Seebock 1-for-2, 2 runs, double, RBI.

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Historical Notes:  Rangers advance to its 9th championship series (3-5 all-time). With 2 appearances in this series, Joe Becker became the franchise leader in playoff appearances as a pitcher. Joe also picked up his 10th playoff win in game 1.

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