By Jacob Ervin, Senior Reporter
The Northwestern softball team lost out in a three-game series against Southern Arkansas last weekend.
The three games were away at Southern Arkansas in Magnolia, Arkansas.
In the first game Saturday, both teams started off with strong pitching and the game remained tied at zero runs until the fourth inning when the Lady Rangers scored thanks to a sacrifice pop fly by Hannah Howell to center field that allowed Lindsey McElroy to score.
The Muleriders responded in the bottom of the fifth inning with a single home run by Mariah Hamilton to tie the game at 1-1 and then scored two more runs in the bottom of sixth.
The Lady Rangers attempted to bring the game back in the seventh inning with a single by Laney Anderson, but after back to back strikeouts Northwestern lost 3-1.
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, Southern Arkansas continued their momentum from game one and took a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
After the Muleriders struck out the Lady Rangers in order at the top of the second inning, the Muleriders prevented a run in the third. The Muleriders scored their third run in the third inning off a stolen base and sacrifice pop fly. The Lady Rangers only managed two more hits in the game and failed to score, making the final score 3-0.
The final game of the series occurred Sunday and ended in a 16-0 win for the Southern Arkansas softball team.
The Muleriders came out swinging and scored five runs in the first two innings of the final game.
Starting pitcher Howell hit a single in the first, which was followed by a walk for Anderson. However, the Lady Rangers failed to get another hit in the inning. The third inning did not get any better for the Lady Rangers as the Muleriders built on their early success with a nine-run inning that made the score 14-0 going in the fourth.
After another scoreless inning for the Rangers in the fourth and two more runs tacked on by the Muleriders, Northwestern attempted to make a comeback in the fifth with a single by McElroy. The Rangers were unable to get another player on base, which ended the game, 16-0.
The Muleriders’ strong performance in the third game was led by third baseman Gracie King, who had three hits from her three at-bats as well as four runs batted in. With the three losses to Southern Arkansas, the Northwestern softball team’s record moves to 11-36 on the year and 8-22 in the Great American Conference.
This makes the Lady Rangers ranked 10th in the GAC and on the outside looking in for the upcoming GAC softball championship tournament. The top six teams have already clinched their playoff berths.
The final games of the Lady Rangers’ season will end with a three-game series against Ouachita Baptist that begins with a double-header at 2 p.m. Friday at the Alva Recreation Complex.
If the Lady Rangers win all three games of the series while both Henderson State and East Central lose all three games, the Lady Rangers would make the conference tournament.