ALVA, Okla. – The Northwestern Oklahoma State softball team will make the trek over to Arkadelphia, Ark. to take on Henderson State in what just may be the biggest softball series in the history of the Ranger's Division II era.

Northwestern currently sits one game ahead of the Reddies in seventh place with a conference record of 15-21. The top eight teams in the standings will qualify for the Great American Conference post-season tournament, making a series victory a necessity if head coach Jill Webb's team intends to keep their seventh-place seeding.

The Rangers have been hard at work establishing themselves as a feared team to come up against in the GAC despite their rough start to the season. The team has managed a 7-7 record during the month of April while maintaining their position inside the top eight of the conference standings that they moved into during the month of March.

With some adjustments at the plate and a newfound sense of confidence, the Ranger's bats have come alive during the final month of the season. As a team the black-and-red has hit .319 during the month of April, with seven different every-day starters hitting above .300. Junior Madison McGraw has been the vocal part of the offense, getting a hit in 17-of-40 at bats during the month, good enough for an outstanding .425 average.
Senior Amber Mills has also developed into a force at the plate after a slow start to the season, hitting .370 during the stretch of games in April while also second on the team with 15 RBI's. A big help in the RBI category is attributed to the three homers she's smashed over the past month of play, trailing only Macy Madewell who has collected seven homeruns and 16 RBI's.

Edna, Texas native, Madison Garza has also been on a tear throughout the month of April as she sports a team best 4.28 ERA, helping her to a 4-3 record over the month. Out of the seven games she's worked, six have been complete game performances, one of which was a shutout. Garza also has 32 strikeouts during the third month of play, tied with teammate Karly Murray.

Henderson State comes into play with a 20-28 overall record, including a 14-22 conference showing.

Leading the Reddie offense is Courtney Warren who is batting .327 for the season, adding 51 hits, 10 doubles and four homeruns. Not far behind her in average is Keirsten Seahorn (.316) who actually has more RBI's with 32, leading the team.

The workhorse for the Reddies has most certainly been pitcher Michelle Sorensen who boasts an outstanding 2.64 ERA for the season and is currently 13-13 overall. Sorensen has collected 165 K's throughout the season, good enough for third in the Great American Conference.

Following a big series win over the Reddies' cross-street rival Ouachita Baptist last weekend, the Rangers will look to continue the winning ways and for a playoff berth at the end of the regular season.