Box Score 1  I  Box Score 2

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State softball team lost two games to the University of Central Oklahoma Friday afternoon at RiverHawks Park.

The RiverHawks (14-20, 6-10 MIAA) lost to UCO (25-12, 10-4 MIAA) 17-4 in five innings before falling 9-5 in game two.  

Kaleigh Hinkle led the way for the RiverHawks. The freshman was 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBI. Senior Alli Eales (2-for-5) also hit a solo home run while senior Alyssa Aguilar (1-for-4) hit a three-run homer. Six other RiverHawks recorded hits on the day.

Northeastern State will next travel to Edmond, Oklahoma, to take on the University of Central Oklahoma in a nonconference doubleheader April 4. The first game is set to begin at 2 p.m.

CENTRAL OKLAHOMA 17, NORTHEASTERN STATE 4 (5 innings)
Central Oklahoma jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. UCO added another run in the second inning on Ashleigh Tramel's ninth home run of the season.

The Bronchos pushed across three additional runs in the third inning to take a 5-0 lead. UCO scored 12 runs in the fourth inning to take control of the game, chasing starting pitcher Kayce Wooldridge from the circle.

The RiverHawks got four runs back in the bottom of the fourth inning when freshman Bailey Applegate hit an RBI single and Hinkle drove three runners in.

Both teams were held scoreless in the fifth inning and NSU fell 17-4 in the first game.

Wooldridge (8-8) took the loss for the RiverHawks. She threw 3.1 innings and conceded 13 runs (10 earned) on 14 hits. Sophomore Krissy Crow threw 1.2 innings in relief, giving up four runs (three earned) on four hits.

CENTRAL OKLAHOMA 9, NORTHEASTERN STATE 5
The Bronchos took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning in the second game on a Brooke Zukerman RBI single up the middle.

Northeastern State responded in the bottom half of the inning, scoring three runs of their own when Aguilar hit a home run with Eales and freshman Paige Gann on base.

UCO pushed across one run in both the third and fourth innings to tie the game 3-3. Zukerman then led off the top of the fifth inning with a home run to straight-away center field to give the Bronchos a 4-3 lead.

Central Oklahoma pushed across five insurance runs in the sixth inning.

The RiverHawks got one run back in the bottom half of the sixth inning on a Hinkle home run. The green and white further closed the gap to 9-5 in the seventh inning when Eales hit a home run of her own. However, NSU was unable to bring across any more runs and fell to UCO 9-5.

Senior Laura Fleck (2-3) took the loss in the circle for the RiverHawks. She allowed nine runs (eight earned) on 14 hits in 5.0 innings pitched. Crow threw 2.0 scoreless innings in relief, giving up three hits.
 
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