SENATOBIA – After a pair of snowouts against both Southwest Tennessee and Arkansas Baptist this week, the 14th-ranked Northwest Rangers are now scheduled to open their season on Saturday, Feb. 15 against 8th-ranked North Iowa in a doubleheader.

First pitch of the 2014 season is set for 1 p.m. against the Trojans. Game 2 will follow 30 minutes later.   

Northwest is coming off a 31-18 record and second state championship appearance in three seasons, while the Trojans of North Iowa were also 31-18 and advanced to the NJCAA Division II World Series a year ago.

Mark Carson enters his ninth season as the Rangers' head coach, and is just one of three coaches in program history with 200 career wins. His overall record stands at 228-171-2 (.571) and he's an impressive 113-54 (.677) against north division opponents with a pair of championships and three runner-up finishes.

The Trojans are coached by Travis Herger, now in his second season, who spent the previous eight seasons as the team's pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. NIACC won the Regional XI tournament, won the North Plains district title and placed fifth at the World Series in his initial season as head coach. 

This doubleheader is part of the Flag City Classic hosted by USA Stadium in Millington, Tenn. The tournament features 16 teams from seven different states. 

Live stats for Saturday's games can be found here: www.sidearmstats.com/northwestms/baseball.