SENATOBIA – The visiting Northeast Tigers scored a combined 18 runs off 24 hits and held Northwest in check at the plate as they swept a doubleheader Wednesday night by 11-2 and 7-2 scores to move into first in the north.
Northeast improved to 12-8 overall and went to 5-1 in the north division standings, while Northwest fell to 13-8 overall and 4-2 in division play to slip into third place.
Just as Northwest did against Itawamba on Saturday, Northeast used two complete-game performances from starters Ben Hellums and Tanner Gaines to sweep the twinbill.
Northwest took an early 1-0 lead in game one off an RBI-single from Walt McCullough, but the lead would be short-lived as the Tigers responded with seven unanswered runs.
Northeast scored four runs in the third, all with two outs, and took a 4-1 lead after three. Josh Mills' RBI-single knotted it at 1-1 before Will Robertson's three-run bomb to left stretched out the lead.
Scoreless over the next two innings, the Tigers plated three more in the sixth and four in the seventh to put the game away and chase starter Tanner Cable. Cody Waddell and Jim Tom Copeland tossed the final two innings and allowed a combined five runs off five hits.
Dylan Castoria's first home run of the year plated the final run for the Rangers in the sixth.
Justin Neal led four Tigers with multiple hits, going 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored. Northwest was led by McCullough who went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Jordan Barnes also extended his reached base streak to 18 games in the loss, reaching base by way of a walk in the first.
The top of the Northeast lineup combined to go 8-for-21 with seven RBIs in game two as the Tigers swept the day with a 7-2 win in the finale.
Gaines, the Mississippi State transfer, improved to 4-0 on the year with a complete-game three-hitter. He struck out 10 against just three walks and allowed two runs (one earned).
Tied at 1-1 after one inning of play, James Lear came around to score for Northwest on an error by the catcher, the first run given up by Gaines in 19 1/3 innings of work this season.
Northeast retook the lead for good in the second, again rallying with two outs after back-to-back strikeouts to open the frame. Four consecutive singles from Ethan Estes, Luke Stanley, Heath Wood and Mills plated the go-ahead runs as the Tigers led 4-1 after two.
Northwest cut the lead in half off J.D. Tackett's RBI-double in the fifth, but wouldn't get any closer as Northeast responded with three unanswered runs over the sixth and seventh innings.
Domenick Carlini dropped to 2-3 overall in 4 2/3 innings of work, making way for Tanner Densford to toss the final 2 1/3. Four costly errors proved to be the difference in the game, as just two of the seven runs surrendered were earned.
Northwest takes to the road on Saturday, traveling to Mississippi Delta for a 1 p.m. doubleheader.
Fans can follow the game on Delta's Gamechanger account HERE.
