By Logan Jones
Assist. Sports Editor
The Northwestern softball team opened up the 2019 season at the Edmond Regional Festival this past weekend.
Unfortunately, they did not get off to the start they wanted, losing four.
The Lady Rangers opened up the 2019 campaign against Colorado Christian University.
In a game that saw a combined 22 runs on 31 hits, the girls lost in heartbreaking fashion, 13-9 after going into extra-innings.
Northwestern got out to an early lead after scoring in the bottom of the first on an RBI fielder’s choice by freshman Morgan La Neve.
The CCU Cougars tied the game in the top of the third, but the red and black regained the lead by scoring 3 in the bottom of the inning after some timely hitting and some costly CCU errors.
Despite being behind for most of the game, the Cougars never lost their composter and ultimately took the lead in the top of the sixth by putting up a four spot, making the score 7-6.
Northwestern would come back to tie the game on an RBI single from Abby Detar in the bottom of the seventh, forcing the game into extra-innings.
With two runners starting on base, CCU jumped on the opportunity scoring 6 runs in the top of the inning.
The Lady Rangers tried to answer back in the bottom half by plating 2 runs of their own, but they came up short, ultimately losing 13-9.
The girls looked to bounce back on Saturday, when they played two against UC-Colorado Springs and Oklahoma Christian.
The Lady Rangers lost both games, 6-3 and 8-2 respectfully, despite their great play.
In the first game against UC-Colorado, Northwestern just could not get over the hump. They fell behind early, as the UCCS Mountain Lions scored 2 runs in the bottom of the first inning.
That is where the score remained until the fifth, when the Mountain Lions scored 2 more, giving them a 4-0 lead.
The Lady Rangers retaliated with 3 runs of their own in the top of the sixth, but that did not stop the rolling Mountain Lions as they plated 2 more in the bottom of the inning.
The game ended in a 6-3 Ranger loss.
In game two, the red and black took on the Oklahoma Christian Eagles.
The runs were much harder to come by in this outing, as the Lady Rangers only scored 2 on 7 hits.
The OCU Eagles came out of the gate swinging, scoring 1 run in the first, 2 in the third and 2 in the fifth.
Northwestern’s only 2 runs came in the top of the sixth, but by then the damage had already been done. After 7, the Lady Rangers fell, 8-2.
On the final day of the Edmond Regional Festival, Northwestern faced off against the Central Oklahoma Broncos.
The final day of competition was short lived as UCO routed the Lady Rangers, 15-3.
The Broncos started the scoring early, as 10 came around to score in the first inning alone.
The red and black tried to mount a comeback in the top of the third but were held to only one run as UCO plated 2 more in the bottom of the inning.
Again, the Lady Rangers attempted to cut into the lead as they put up 2 in the top of the fourth, but once again, the Broncos answered back by scoring 3 of their own.
The game ended after five innings with UCO leading Northwestern by a score of 15-3.
The Lady Rangers home opener against Cameron University, which was set for Tuesday, has been postponed to an undetermined date.
The next game on the schedule for the red and black will be against Oklahoma Baptist in Shawnee on Feb. 22.