CLAREMORE, Okla. - Rogers State came out on the short end of two one-run softball games against Northwestern Oklahoma State at the Hillcat Complex Friday.
 

The Lady Rangers shutdown the RSU offense in the opener for a 1-0 victory and then outlasted the Hillcats, 8-7 in a wild 10-inning affair in the nightcap. Despite the tough losses RSU maintains an 11-6 record in one-run games this season.
 

Rogers State (40-12, 14-9) has lost four straight games for the first time this spring. The Hillcats will travel to Oklahoma Christian for a make-up doubleheader Monday beginning at 2 p.m. A single make-up game has been scheduled for Tuesday against Oklahoma City at the Hillcat Complex. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m.

GAME ONE

Northwestern plated a run in the top of the fifth inning and Becky Holland kept the Cats in check over seven innings to record the 1-0 victory.
 

The Lady Rangers scored the only run of the game in the top of the fifth inning on a passed ball. Tanya Parker doubled to right-center to start the at-bat and went to third on a sacrifice bunt by Heather Hokeah. Parker scampered home on a two-out passed ball to give Northwestern the only run it would need.
 

Holland (12-5) tossed a complete game shutout, allowing only three hits with four strikeouts and one walk. RSU stranded two runners in scoring position in the game. Kelli Dunagan (26-10) was the hard-luck loser after giving up one run on two hits in a complete-game performance.

GAME TWO
Northwestern right-fielder Amber Cardona's diving stab robbed Randi Tyler of a potential game-tying hit and put an end to a 10-inning marathon in the nightcap.

Four Hillcat errors led to four unearned runs as the Lady Rangers edged RSU 8-7 in a back-and-forth battle. The Hillcats trailed 3-0 before Tyler scored the first RSU run of the day with a home run over the center field wall in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Cats tied the game at 3-3 with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Senior Chasidy Austin ripped an RBI single and later scored on a Northwestern error.
 

The two offenses finally cranked it into high gear as the game reached extra innings. Kati Jo Gabaldon gave the Lady Rangers a 5-3 lead with a two-run double in the top of the eighth inning. Megan Wood doubled home Austin to start the bottom of the inning and Dunagan retied the game with an RBI groundout. A two-out error by Lauren Looper gave Northwestern a 6-5 lead in the top of the ninth. However, the resilient Hillcats answered right back when Sara Walkup singled home Katie Bointy in the bottom of the frame.
 

Ultimately, the Hillcats defensive woes caught up with them. Walkup fired wide of first base on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Natalie Vasquez in the top of the tenth. Jacki Kopacek scored on the wild throw and Vasquez made it 8-6 Northwestern when she crossed home plate on a single by Janette Galindo.
 

But the Cats didn't go quietly in the tenth. Wood singled home Looper to make it a one-game and Dunagan followed with a single to put the winning run on base. With two outs Tyler roped an opposite-field liner that somehow found the glove of Cardona just before hitting the turf down the right field line. Cardona's game winning grab put an end to the game two hours and fifty minutes after the first pitch was thrown.
 

Holland (13-5) picked up her second win of the day with four innings of relief. Dunagan (26-11) lost her fourth straight decision after pitching nine innings in relief of starter Jenny Johnson. Wood led all players with three hits and three RBI in the game. Tyler and Walkup had two apiece for the Hillcats.