ALVA, OKLAHOMA - Northwestern Oklahoma State Softball opened a three-game series against East Central Tigers with a Friday doubleheader. East Central took both games in extra innings, playing nine in both.
GAME ONE:
Northwestern was led on offense by Macy Spearman, Jadyn Muns, and Rosemary Rivera, in hits with three each. Rachel Sherwood and Rivera each had a two RBI game.
East Central, looking to strike first, had a leadoff single, but the Ranger defense threw her out trying to steal for the first out of the inning. The Northwestern offense broke out early with two early runs. Started with a leadoff triple for Macy Spearman. Jadyn Muns followed with an RBI double for the early 1-0 lead over the Tigers. The Rangers pushed across the second run with an RBI double by Avery Clark for the 2-0 lead.
The Tigers answered back, though, in the second inning when they put the first two runners on base before an RBI single pushed across their first run. This was followed by a walk and an RBI single for a 2-2 game.
Rosemary Rivera put the Rangers back in front quickly with a solo home run for the 3-2 Rangers lead after two innings of play. The lead stayed that way into the third inning when River came through again for the Rangers with an RBI single to take a 4-2 lead, scoring Corn.
The Rangers then scored for a fourth consecutive inning after back-to-back singles led to a Rachel Sherwood 2-RBI double to left center, scoring Muns, and Spearman gave the Rangers a 6-2 lead.
East Central, in the fifth inning, though, battled back to tie the game. Started with a single and a walk, which led to an RBI double. An RBI ground got East Central back within two at 6-4. Strong for East Central followed with an RBI single to bring their deficit down to one. East Central tied the game on a bases-loaded walk.
Northwestern, looking to regain the lead in the sixth, had two singles putting two runners on base back a strikeout and groundout kept the game tied.
In the first extra inning in the eighth, East Central was looking to strike first and loaded the bases, but the Rangers threw a runner out at the plate followed by a fly ball that escaped without any damage.
It was the ninth inning when East Central had their offense strike for the lead. Started with a leadoff walk leading to an RBI single before the big bases-clearing triple took a 10-7 lead over the Rangers.
In the ninth inning, the Rangers had a single by Rivera but were unable to score as the Tigers closed out the 10-7 win.
GAME TWO:
Northwestern was led in hits by Jadyn Muns, Avery Clark, and Makanalei Lapera with two each. Muns had a team high with a 2-RBI game.
Kathryn Jones threw seven innings, allowing two runs while striking out two.
Northwestern loaded the bases in the first inning with a single followed by two walks, but East Central was able to work their way out of the inning.
The game in the second game was a pitcher's duel as neither team was able to score until the Rangers did so in the fourth inning.
Clark started the inning with a single back up the middle before a Lapera double down the left field line scored the game's first run. After a walk, Muns struck a 2-RBI single to right field, scoring Spearman and Lapera for the 3-0 lead in the fourth inning.
In the fifth inning, East Central put two runners on base but left them there as Jones worked around the jam, keeping the Rangers in front.
It was the sixth inning when East Central first struck for a run after a single and a stolen base led to a run scoring on a throwing error by the Rangers, for a 3-1 game through six innings.
In the seventh inning, East Central was able to send the game into extra innings after a leadoff single and double led to an RBI groundout, before an RBI single tied the game at 3-3.
The game stayed tied until the ninth inning when the Tigers had a leadoff single and a sacrifice bunt setting up the game-winning single by Galcatcher for the 4-3 lead. In the bottom of the inning, the Rangers pushed a runner to second but were unable to tie the game as the Rangers fell 4-3 to the Tigers.
Northwestern closes the three-game series with East Central on Saturday with a Noon scheduled first pitch in Alva.
