By NICK VILLALOBOS
Sports Editor
Northwestern softball suffered a devastating 3-1 series loss over the weekend to Harding.
Day one play began Sunday afternoon against the Bison and wrapped up on Monday in Searcy, Ark.
The Rangers opened the first day with a dominant 7-1 victory in game one only to find themselves falling in game two 8-6.
In the game one win, Rangers Jordan Haya and Allora Miller led the way, going 3-for-2 at the plate. Miller would just edge out her teammate however, as she managed three RBIs with one run, while Haya had two RBIs with one run as well.
Miller would start the scoring off early in the matchup as she fired a three-run home run in the first inning. The RBI for Haya came in the next inning as she connected for a single, which drove in teammate Stephanie Couser.
Ranger Madison McGraw would single in the third inning, which scored two more runs.
The scoring for the Rangers ended in the fourth as Haya would connect for a two-run home run to push the Rangers to a 7-0 lead.
The Bison would finally tack one on the board in the sixth inning, but it would not be enough to come back on the Rangers as Northwestern took game one 7-1.
In game two of the day, the Rangers found themselves on the short end of a back-and-forth scoring affair. After falling to an 8-4 deficit late in the contest, the Rangers unfortunately could only close to within two of the Bison before the final out was recorded, leaving them with an 8-6 loss in game two.
In day two of the four-game series, the Rangers could not get any offense going as they only managed one run total against the Bison in both games.
In game one Monday, the Rangers were shut out 3-0.
In game two, the Rangers managed to tack on a run after Haya crossed the plate on a fielding error by the Bison.
Despite the lone run by Haya, the damage was already done to the Rangers as Harding opened the contest with eight runs in the first inning and seven more in the following innings leaving the Rangers at a 15-1 loss in game four of the series.
The Rangers will be back in action tonight against Arkansas Tech at the Alva Sports Complex beginning at 4 p.m. and tomorrow at 2 p.m.