ALVA, Okla. – Northwestern Oklahoma State got a much-needed win over Southern Nazarene Sunday night as they took down the Crimson Storm 5-4 at Myers Stadium. Walker Wharton threw six strong innings but settled for a no-decision after the Storm rallied for three in the 7^th. But the Rangers were unphased as Judah Zickafoose picked up the go-ahead base knock in the 7^th to give the Rangers the game one victory.

Fresh off being named BlueSky Media Ranger Athlete of the Month, centerfielder Johnuelle Ponce continued to impress as he launched his seventh home run of the season to give Northwestern a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 1^st. The redshirt junior improved his average to .339 with a 2-for-3 performance in the win, while also picking up two RBI's.

Ranger starter Walker Wharton (5-2, 3.14 ERA) looked comfortable against the Crimson Storm hitters, scattering eight hits over his six innings of work while leaving seven on base. Southern Nazarene would get one in the 3^rd on four hits, but Wharton stranded the bases loaded to minimize the damage and keep the Rangers in it.

Judah Zickafoose (2-for-4, 2 RBI) capped off a two-run 4^th when he ripped a triple off the top of the wall in right center to give the black-and-red a 4-1 edge.

The Ranger bullpen struggled in the 7^th as the SNU tied things up off Massachusetts natives Brandon Nesseralla and Matthew Bickford. After Nesseralla issued a walk and a base hit, he was lifted in favor of Bickford who gave up a three-run home run to Cole Wagner to make it 4-4. The Crimson Storm were able to load the bases again, but Bickford induced a groundout to first base to get the Rangers back in the dugout still tied.

Northwestern was able to strike right back in the bottom half of the 7^th, with Zickafoose coming up clutch with a base hit, scoring Luis Cintron to make it a 5-4 game.

Right hander Sean Rydell came on in the 8^th and powered his way through six clean outs, recording three strikeouts en route to his second save of the 2018 campaign.

Up Next
The two teams will reconvene tomorrow for games two and three of the series at Myers Stadium. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. and can be seen live at www.riderangersride.com/watch and heard over the airwaves in the Alva area on the Pulse 105.7 FM.

For the latest news and updates on Ranger Baseball, follow @NWOSUAthletics on TWITTER or visit www.riderangersride.com