Alva Review-Courier -

ALVA, Okla. – Northwestern Oklahoma State got a much-needed win over Southern Nazarene Sunday night as they took down the Crimson Storm 5-4 at Myers Stadium. Walker Wharton threw six strong innings but settled for a no-decision after the Storm rallied for three in the 7th. But the Rangers were unphased as Judah Zickafoose picked up the go-ahead base knock in the 7th to give the Rangers the Game One victory.

Fresh off being named BlueSky Media Ranger Athlete of the Month, centerfielder Johnuelle Ponce continued to impress as he launched his seventh home run of the season to give Northwestern a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st. The redshirt junior improved his average to .339 with a 2-for-3 performance in the win, while also picking up two RBIs.

Ranger starter Walker Wharton (5-2, 3.14 ERA) looked comfortable against the Crimson Storm hitters, scattering eight hits over his six innings of work while leaving seven on base. Southern Nazarene would get one in the 3rd on four hits, but Wharton stranded the bases loaded to minimize the damage and keep the Rangers in it.

Judah Zickafoose (2-for-4, 2 RBI) capped off a two-run 4th when he ripped a triple off the top of the wall in right center to give the black-and-red a 4-1 edge.

The Ranger bullpen struggled in the 7th as the SNU tied things up off Massachusetts natives Brandon Nesseralla and Matthew Bickford. After Nesseralla issued a walk and a base hit, he was lifted in favor of Bickford who gave up a three-run home run to Cole Wagner to make it 4-4. The Crimson Storm were able to load the bases again, but Bickford induced a groundout to first base to get the Rangers back in the dugout still tied.

Northwestern was able to strike right back in the bottom half of the 7th, with Zickafoose coming up clutch with a base hit, scoring Luis Cintron to make it a 5-4 game.

Right hander Sean Rydell came on in the 8th and powered his way through six clean outs, recording three strikeouts en route to his second save of the 2018 campaign.