Junior Josh Smith gave the Rangers all he had on the mound yesterday, as the varsity baseball team picked up a 6-2 win over the Lowell Red Arrows. Josh had his best performance on the mound this season. He pitched an almost-immaculate five innings as the Rangers blossomed late in the game to give them another win this season.

“I felt like it was a huge team win,” senior Maguire Mahachek said. “Everyone got the bats going towards the back end of the game and the fielding was efficient all game.”

After a pretty good weekend at the Eagle/Sadler invite, FHC was looking to make it two straight wins over a solid Red Arrows team.

The game started in the top of the first inning with a pretty bad start for the Rangers. They hit into a 1-2-3 inning that would put them in the bottom of the first with no runs on the board, which the Red Arrows took advantage of. The lead-off man got on a base with a hit for Lowell, and then after a series of wild pitches from Josh, the runner ended up reaching home. Just like that, the Rangers were down 1-0 going into the second inning.

After a quick punch-out from the Lowell pitcher, Maguire got things rolling for the Rangers with a base hit to start the inning. After him, junior Ivan Wheland reached base on an error by the Lowell third baseman. Quickly after, Maguire reached third base on a passed ball. It was a lucky draw for the Rangers, but that went away right after senior Dawsen Beach struck out looking. While the catcher was paying close attention to the base runners, he gunned it down to first base where Ivan got picked off to end the inning on a wild double play.

To no avail, Josh kept the Lowell hitters at bay in the bottom of the second inning, going 1-2-3 to quickly get the bats up again for FHC. In the top of the third inning, senior Nathan Sigg reached on a walk. However, it was no help as junior Joe Serunyck would ground out to end the top half of the inning. The Rangers were still down 1-0, but to everyone’s surprise, Josh was still lighting up the Red Arrow hitters. He walked the leadoff batter but struck out the side to end the third inning.

The fourth inning did not give much light for FHC, but with two outs, Maguire got a nice base hit. It would not come to haunt Lowell as Maguire would get picked off at first, and the Rangers would have to rely on Josh yet again to get themselves out of a jam. Smith did just that, as he gave up just one measly infield hit. At the end of the fourth, the Rangers were still down 1-0.

The top of the fifth started out great for FHC, as they would be given four straight walks by the Lowell pitcher. This made the score tied at one run apiece. Shortly after, Nathan Sigg would get rolling again with another base hit. He drove in another run to make the game 2-1 in favor of FHC. Senior Logan VanLente would ground out to the catcher, but drove in a run to give the team a two-run advantage. Maguire struck out to end the inning, but it proved well for FHC as they went into the bottom half of the fifth with a 3-1 lead.

Josh would get two quick outs but after a walk, a base hit, and an infield hit by the Red Arrows, FHC found themselves defending a bases-loaded jam with two outs in the inning. Maguire would put it away for the Rangers with a flyout by Lowell. After five innings, Josh would end his day by giving up three hits and one earned run while striking out four batters. Going into the top of the sixth, the Rangers still clung onto a 3-1 lead.

To start off the top of the sixth, Dawson Beach and junior Joe Robertson were both hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second base. As Nathan Sigg got up to bat yet again, he hit a hard ground ball to the Lowell shortstop, who made a critical error. Just like that, the Rangers were back in business with the bases loaded and two outs in the inning. Junior Joe Sereunyck got his shot and cleared the bases with a three-RBI double to give FHC its biggest lead of the day at 6-1. 

When the bottom half of the sixth inning finally came around, Joe Robertson was given the call to the mound. He let up a hit with two outs but quickly recovered, as he got a sweet punch-out to give FHC a five-run cushion going into the seventh inning. The Rangers bats didn’t get any insurance runs in the top half of the seventh, as they went 1-2-3 to give Joe a five-run advantage going into the bottom half of the inning. 

Lowell would quickly load the bases in a last-minute push, as the hitters for the Red Arrows reached on an error, a walk, and a rare balk to load the bases with no outs. Joe would scoop up a grounder that went straight to him as he quickly turned the double play, but it gave Lowell a run as FHC was still up 6-2. Joe would force the final Lowell hitter to pop it up as Maguire got under it to seal the game for the Rangers, as they walked away with a 6-2 win.

“The juniors have blown my expectations away and have been achieving great success both with the bats and on the field,” Maguire said. “I’m very proud of how they have been playing as the ‘forest of love’ is off to a great start.”

The Rangers are now 5-1 on the season and will look to sweep Lowell on Wednesday, playing the Red Arrows in a doubleheader at the FHC baseball field at 4:15 PM.