WICHITA, Kan. – Northwestern Oklahoma State University softball opened the day with a solid all-around effort for a 6-4 win in game one. NWOSU saw the tides turn in game two with a 6-3 loss to split the season-opening doubleheader against Friends (Kan.) on Monday afternoon at the Two Rivers Youth Complex.
The split starts the Rangers 1-1 overall on the year. NWOSU will travel to Sterling (Kan.) for a doubleheader before hosting Arkansas-Monticello in the Great American Conference opening series this weekend.
In the opener, Lindsey McElroy led the Red-and-Black with three hits, Kalie Johnson collected a pair of hits. At the same time, Jayden Flowers and Alayna Georgio, Jayden Solberg, and Brianna Wisby each posted one.
McElroy would drive in a pair of runs, with Flowers, Johnson, Solberg, Wisby each adding an RBI.
Hannah Howell got the start and picked up the win after throwing a complete game. Howell surrendered four runs; three earned on six hits with five strikeouts.
The game would remain scoreless until the bottom of the third, when the Falcons were able to manufacture two runs.
Northwestern would cut into Friends lead in the fourth when Solberg doubled to center with two outs and McElroy drove her in with a single to right field.
The Rangers would add five more in the fifth, the first one as Georgio worked her way around the bases before scoring on a dropped fly ball. Wisby doubled to left to drive in Johnson, making the Falcons go to the bullpen. Laila Spracklen came in and walked three straight to force Wisby home and Spracklen out of the game. Ashlyn Jacobs came in for Friends and was greeted by McElroy driving in Allison Zanca, followed by a Flowers single that plated Regan Burleson for a 6-2 lead.
That would hold until the bottom of the seventh when the Falcons would trim the gap with a Kat Davis two-run homerun, but Howell would get out of trouble and Northwestern would hang on for the 6-4 win.
In-game two, the Red-and-Black would start off with hot bats, picking up two runs in the top of the first. Wisby would get things going with a one-out single, Solberg would follow with a walk, then both would come around to score off a McElroy double to center.
NWOSU would add to their lead in the third when Wisby reached on an error and then later came around to score on the inning's second error.
Allie Hufford would start game two, cruising through the first 3 1/3 innings only allowing one hit. In the bottom of the fourth, the Falcons would begin to get to her with two singles, with a run coming in on a fielder's choice, to trim Northwestern's lead to 3-1.
Friends would force Hufford out of the game in the fifth inning with two outs after a run had scored and a runner on first. Hannah Scoggin would relieve her; after two errors, a walk and a double, the Falcons would take a 6-3 lead.
The Rangers were unable to put together a rally in the sixth or seventh innings, falling in game two 6-3.
McElroy and Wisby would collect the two hits for the Red-and-Black, with Wisby scoring twice and scoring the other run was Solberg. McElroy drove in two runs while Solberg also had an RBI.
Hufford threw 4.2 innings, surrendering three runs on five hits and striking out six. Scoggin came in to pitch the final 1.1 innings and gave up three runs, one earned, on a hit and two walks and struck out two.
The Rangers will travel to Sterling, Kan., to take on Sterling College in a doubleheader on Tuesday, Feb. 23, starting at 1 pm.
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