RC duo tosses no-hitter at WC

Chris Reynolds and Dillon Morris found the perfect way to cap a memorable outing by the Ranger College baseball team on Saturday. They clinched the team's best finish in 33 years by combining to no-hit Weatherford College in a key Northern Texas Junior College Athletic Conference matchup in Weatherford.

"They did a great job on the mound," said RC head coach Scott Norwood. "They came in and pitched like we knew they could."

Reynolds, a left-handed freshman from Titusville, Florida, left the Coyotes spellbound through the first five innings. He struck out four en route to recording his first victory. Morris, a sophomore from Carthage, fanned two of the eight batters he faced in the sixth and seventh innings.

With the win, Ranger College improved to 25-21 for the season and secured its first winning season since 1985. The victory also left the Rangers one win shy of matching the team's best mark for wins in a season in 33 years. The team's previous best finish came in 2016 when former head coach Josh Blakley led the squad to a 26-30 finish.

"It's a good place for us to start," said Norwood, who has won 48 games since taking over the RC program last season. "It isn't where we want to be, but we are taking steps forward."

The Ranger bats tagged Weatherford starter Bryce Hackett early, scoring twice in the first three innings of play. They added another run in the fifth and went up 3-0.

Weatherford, which had outscored Ranger by a 29-7 margin a day earlier en route to sweeping a doubleheader at Ellis Burks Field, fought its way to within 3-2 in the sixth with a pair of unearned runs.

RC got one of the runs back in the seventh and then turned the ball over to Morris, who collected his third save.

The Rangers dominated Weatherford in Game 2 of the twinbill. RC pounded out 11 hits and raced to a 12-2 run-rule victory.

Brandon Holdren went 3-for-5 in the contest and drove in three runs. Victor Bueno also went 3-for-5 and had two RBI.

Weatherford, now 30-20 overall, split its four-game series with Ranger with wins on Friday. The Coyotes won Game 1 by a 22-3 clip, and then closed out the sweep with a 9-3 decision in Game 2.

The Rangers will close out their 2019 season on Saturday when they host Vernon College in a doubleheader. Games will begin at 1 p.m.