ALVA, Oklahoma – The Ouachita softball team split a doubleheader with the Rangers on Northwestern Oklahoma State, winning 9-2 in game one and losing 9-1 in game two on Thursday.
Game One: Ouachita 9, Northwestern Oklahoma State 2
Ouachita got off to a good start in the second-to-last series opener of the season.
Marli Huddleston continued her hot streak with an RBI single that scored
Baylee King.
Jessalyn Ahrens made it home on the same play thanks to an error by Northwestern Oklahoma to put the Tigers ahead 2-0.
Jordyn Merrett followed with an RBI single to score Huddleston and give Ouachita a 3-0 lead after the opening half inning.
The Rangers closed the gap the following frame with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. This would be it for Northwestern's scoring in game one, as the Tigers held NWOSU to zero runs and just five hits over the next six innings.
The Tigers plated single runs in the third, fourth, and fifth innings to take a 6-2 lead. Oliva See drew an RBI walk in the third,
Emily Whitman came through with an RBI single in the fourth, and
Baylee King picked up an RBI on a groundout to give Ouachita the four-run lead.
Ouachita extended their lead with another three runs in the top of the seventh. Two of the runs came on an RBI triple from King that scored
Katelyn Provence and
Avie Reams. The Tigers' final run came on a sacrifice fly from Ahrens that brought King home and put Ouachita on top by seven. The Tiger defense held strong in the final frame to secure the 9-2 victory and take a 1-0 lead in the series.
The Tigers racked up a season-high 13 hits in the win. Four Tigers recorded two hits each, with King leading the way with three RBI. In total, six Tigers tallied RBI in the seven-run win.
Catie Amador recorded her 12
th win of the season after pitching the full 7.0 innings with just two earned runs and four strikeouts.
Game Two: Northwestern 9, Ouachita 1
The second game of the doubleheader started the opposite from the first, as it was Northwestern that struck first with two runs in the bottom of the opening frame.
After both sides going scoreless over the next two frames, Ouachita got on the board thanks to a solo home run from
Karley Burrow in the fourth, which cut the deficit to just one run. However, The Ranger offense responded in the bottom of the inning with seven runs. The Tigers couldn't make the rally and fell by the score of 9-1.
Three Tigers, Ahrens, Merrett, and Burrow recorded hits in the loss. Burrow led with a 1-for-1 performance with a home run and a walk.
The Tigers will be looking to win the series tomorrow in a game-three rubber match that is set to start at 11 a.m. in Alva.
