WICHITA, Kan. - In consecutive days of softball action, the Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers took to the road for their second trip in two days to Wichita, Kan. where they took the diamond with the Newman Jets. The Rangers picked up their first win of the season in a 2-1 victory during the second game of action.

Junior Karly Murray shined in that 2-1 victory, going seven innings strong while allowing just four hits. Murray displayed good command of the strike zone, failing to walk a single Jet batter while striking out two along the way.

Northwestern was led by senior Madi Parrott at the plate throughout the afternoon as the first baseman went 3-for-5 with two RBI's and a run scored for both games. Seniors Macey Madewell and Brittany Corrales also recorded multiple hits over the course of the two games while junior college transfer Estrella Guardiola got the start at catcher in the second game and went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

GAME 1
Newman 8, Northwestern 5 

Junior Madison Garza began game one in the circle and looked solid through four innings of work, striking out two, but the fifth inning turned into a tough one for the senior, as a seven-spot was given up  while six of those runs came with two outs on the board.

Both pitchers started out the game with three up and three down in the first, but the Rangers were able to manufacture a run in the second as Madi Parrott laced a double down the left field line, scoring Macy Madewell on the play.

Over the next four innings, the visitors were able to plate one run in each frame, taking a 4-1 lead over the Jets, but the tables were quickly turned on the Black-and-Red as seven total runs were given up in the bottom of the fifth inning. Two singles, a groundout and a three-run bomb led to the huge inning for the hosts who then took a commanding 8-4 advantage.

Northwestern tried to battle their way back in their half of the sixth however as freshman Jada Overby ripped a double to center field, scoring Jordan Sutton on the play. A strikeout immediately following the double would end the threat however in the inning.

Garza was able to settle down in the sixth inning as she retired the first three batters she saw, moving her team to the top of the seventh down three runs.

As the guests had one last shot at making a final comeback, the Rangers would be retired in order to end the inning and the game as they were defeated 8-5.

GAME 2
Northwestern 2, Newman 1 

Murray got started early in the second game of the double header and retired nine of the first 10 batters she faced in the opening three innings. The Ranger hitters provided the Hinton, Okla. with some run support in the top half of the second when back-to-back singles by Madewell and Parrott to left field put some pressure on the Newman pitching staff. 

That pressure led to Overby getting hit by a pitch after the two singles, loading the bases with just one out. After a foul out by Corrales, senior Peyton Garrett came back from an 0-2 count with two outs to draw a walk and allow Madewell to score for the first run of the contest.

A costly error in the bottom half of the fourth inning allowed the Jets to drive home the tying run with a single to right field. With runners in scoring position and her lead no longer in tact, Murray came through for the Rangers and retired the next two batters to get out of the inning.

That momentum in the circle from Murray carried over to the Ranger bats in the top half of the ensuing inning as Garrett moved herself into scoring position with a lead-off double. Senior Jordan Sutton followed Garrett's double up with a single to advance Garrett to third, which set up Guardiola for a bunt single that scored Garrett. 

That clutch bunt from the McLennan Community College transfer proved to be enough to earn the Rangers their first victory of the season as the Ranger defense negated a one-out single in the bottom half of the sixth with a double play and a lead-off single in the top of the seventh thanks to Murray's second strike out of the game that put an exclamation point on the first victory of the season for Northwestern.