(May 7, 2026) Ardmore, Oklahoma - After a 9-0 win to open the tournament and a no-hitter, the ladies turned their attention to their Arkansas rival National Park College on Thursday evening at Regional Park in the Southwest Plains District Tournament. Earlier this season, the Bucks and Nighthawks split their region doubleheader at Cummings-Cecil Field.
Abigail Koppein (Mena, AR) returned to the circle for the Bucks and stranded a runner at third base to start the game. The left-hander settled in and cruise through five innings. The Bucks offense kept trying to chip away at NPC's starting pitcher and came through in the bottom of the third and fourth innings.
In the third, Kinley Rankin (Horatio, AR) led off the inning with a single and advanced on a sac bunt. The sophomore returned from injury just in time for the tournament. After a single put runners at second and third, Rankin scored on a wild pitch that allowed Brooke Tyler (Gainesville, TX) to advance. She would then score on a Emily Stout (Vilonia, AR) sacrifice fly to make it 2-0 after three innings. Next inning, Kensley Allen (Muskogee, OK) led off the inning with her second home run of the tournament. It was a solo shot over the left field fence to make it 3-0.
After a scoreless fifth, National Park scratched for a run in the top of the sixth, but the Bucks had an answer in the bottom half. With 2 outs and a pair of runners on, Kinley Rankin grounded into a fielder's choice to plate a run to regain the 3-run lead heading into the top of the seventh. UARM ran into a little bit of trouble in the top half that led to a run, but Koppein was able to close out the complete game with the Bucks winning 4-2.
Abi Koppein (15-3) got the win in 7.0 innings, giving up 2 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits. The freshmen struck out 7 and walked a pair in the outing.
The Bucks will now turn their attention to Murray State College on Friday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 4 pm in the winner's bracket finals. All the action can be seen at www.np.edu/live.
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