SENATOBIA – In front of a season-best crowd on Saturday afternoon against division rival Northeast, the Rangers used an infield error to walk-off to a 2-1 win in the opener in eight innings before dropping a 9-7 decision in the finale for a doubleheader split on Sophomore Day.
Northwest moved its season record to 26-8-1 overall and 15-5 in the north, closing out its 2012 home slate an impressive 16-3-1. Northeast moved to 24-16 overall and 15-7 in division play.
In a pitcher's duel in game one between Northeast's Jaisa Fox and Northwest's Casey Baddley, the teams exchanged single runs in the fourth inning and needed an extra frame to decide a winner.
With the international tiebreaker rule in effect, Jazmin Smith was placed on second to start the eighth for Northeast. Baddley then retired the Lady Tigers' 9-1-2 hitters in order on eight pitches, making way for the Rangers to win it in the bottom half.
Anna Barham was placed on second for the Rangers, who quickly put runners at second and third with no outs after Hillari Plummer reached on an error on a sacrifice bunt attempt.
Smith rallied for consecutive fly outs and looked to escape damage herself, but Natalie Smock's routine pop fly to second was dropped a batter later that allowed Barham to score for the game-winner.
Codie Jones was the lone Ranger with multiple hits in the game, both doubles, including the tying RBI-double in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Baddley improved to 15-1 in the circle with a complete-game four-hitter, striking out four and throwing exactly 100 pitches. Fox fell to 9-7 with the loss, scattering five hits, three strikeouts and two runs.
What started out as another low-scoring affair in game two quickly turned out to be a slugfest.
Trailing 3-1 in the fifth, Northwest rallied to take its first lead of the game with a four-run frame. Plummer's leadoff bunt single got the inning going, with Smock and Lauren Riley adding back-to-back RBI-hits. Jones followed with an RBI-double and later came around to score on a wild pitch that made it 5-3 Rangers.
Northeast responded with three runs off just one hit in the sixth to retake the lead momentarily at 6-5 before Jones again delivered a big two-run home run to put Northwest back up 7-6 heading into the seventh.
Stormy Robison, who entered to pitch in the third and was taken out to start the sixth, re-entered in the circle to start the seventh.
Northeast quickly loaded the bases with one out after three singles and Robison got Hannah Hastings swinging for the second out. But leadoff batter Raleigh Downs delivered the huge hit a batter later, clearing the bases with a three-run double that made it 9-7 in favor of the visitors.
Fox, who was the hard-luck loser in game one, gave up a hit-by-pitch and walk to start the bottom half, but got two strikeouts and a flyout to cap the come-from-behind win.
Northwest will close out the regular season on the road, beginning with a doubleheader on Wednesday, April 18 at Holmes (13-27, 11-9 north). First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
Live video will be available for the doubleheader on Holmes' iHigh.com website (click here).
