2019 Lady Ranger's softball season
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May 3, 2019
NWOSU Softball team photograph – (Back row) Kimalee Lawrence, Chesney Fouts, Jada Overby, Caden Cunningham, Allison Wells, Morgan La Neve, Madison Friest, Karly Murray, Summer White, Taylor Zanca, Kailin Lian; (second row) Lindsey McElroy, Jayden Flowers, Ariel Forsyth, Jalena Arthur, Alexa Moses, Alli Willis, Abby Detar, Kathryn Wells, Ashlie Green; (front) Bailee Whitener, Taylor Russel, Morgan Kirk, Alexus Bailey, Kalie Johnson, Shelbie Roberson, Madeline McIntyre.
The Lady Rangers just ended their season; they barely missed qualifying for the conference tournament. Last year's overall record of 17-33, 16-28 in conference wasn't as great a season as Coach Devries would have hoped for. Yet, the team finished ninth in conference just behind East Central (18-23-1 in conference play) – one spot away from making it to the conference tournament.
The 2019 season also started off slowly for the Lady Rangers. Through the first 26 games, the Lady Rangers compiled a 3-23 record. Through the second half of the season the Rangers compiled a 3-19 record leading into their final series versus Southern Nazarene University.
Seniors
Coming to the 2019 season end, the Rangers had some big shoes to fill. The team lost nine seniors that were on the field for the 2018 team. This year's softball team featured three seniors. Allison Wells and Jalena Arthur are two returning seniors that were on the pitching staff last year along with Karly Murray. Murray saw a considerable amount of playing time at pitcher last season. Another senior is Ashlie Green. Green played first base for the Lady Rangers and has started 28 game this season.
Key Contributors
Morgan Kirk was the only player that wasn't a senior that saw plenty of action last season. Kirk plays shortstop. Alexus Bailey also saw a lot of playing time for the Lady Rangers this season; Bailey is third on the team for hits. She also was second on the team with three home runs. Jada Overby has seen her fair share of playing time late in the season at third base. Overby is also hitting the ball well for the Lady Rangers. Overby has a batting average of .324.
The Lady Rangers have received strong play from the freshman class this year. Catcher Madison Friest has a strong arm and can hit the ball really well. Friest is leading the team with four home runs this season while second on the team for batting average (.324). Kalie Johnson is another outstanding freshman who is leaving it all on the field. Johnson is leading the team with a .331 batting percentage, hits on the season with 46, tied for second on the team in RBIs.
Coaching Staff
Coach Devries coached her third year as head coach of the Lady Rangers softball team. It is her second year as full time head coach while her first season was the interim head coach. Her total record is 23-75 over the last two seasons.
Allora Miller joined the Northwestern Softball coaching staff in 2016; she is currently in her third season as the pitching coach. Miller helped the Ranger pitching staff improve quite a bit over both seasons; Miller helped Northwestern pitcher, Madison Garza get on the All-GAC list two years in a row.
Katie Bell enters her first year as assistant coach. Bell played two years at Des Moines Area Community College prior to joining the Ranger team in 2017, where she played two seasons. Bell also coaches the infielders.
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