ALVA, Okla. – SWOSU Softball split a doubleheader with Northwestern on Tuesday, dropping game one narrowly 5-4 before bouncing back with a 7-2 victory to close the day out.
 
The Dawgs return to action in Magnolia, Arkansas this weekend where they'll face Southern Arkansas in continued conference play. The Muleriders sit fourth in the standings entering the weekend.
 
Game One – Northwestern 5, SWOSU 4
 
A five-run first by the Rangers was the difference maker. Courtney Hill entered in relief in the second inning and held Northwestern scoreless the rest of the way, which allowed the Dawgs to chip away at the deficit.
 
SWOSU ultimately ran out of outs to work with. They scored two in the second inning and added solo runs in the fifth and seventh. A would-be fifth run, Jadyn Hook, was thrown out at the plate in the third inning trying to score following a Maddie Rahon double. This came an inning after Dani Carmo was tagged out at home from a fielder's choice.
 
Chesnie Hewitt's triple in the second plated SWOSU's first two runs. Katie Boline doubled in a run in the fifth. Boline and Rahon combined for four hits in the contest.
 
Game Two – SWOSU 7, Northwestern 2
 
The Bulldogs kept momentum from the end of game one into the second by jumping out to an eventual 6-0 lead before Northwestern finally got on the board in the sixth.
 
After a two-run home run by the Rangers in the sixth, Dani Carmo capped the day's scoring off with an RBI single to plate Katie Boline who doubled right before her.
 
Jadyn Hook had three hits to lead the lineup. Carmo had two RBI. Blaire Gentry pitched the entire way, striking out three, walking two, and scattering six hits.