SENATOBIA – Northwest's quest for its first baseball state championship since 2000 will begin at Joe G. Moss Field in Raymond this weekend, as the 20th-ranked Rangers will play a best-of-3 series against Hinds May 2-3.
Winners in 19 of 24, Northwest jumped back in the polls this week at 30-14 overall. Hinds, winners in 23 of its last 31, will enter the weekend 27-16 overall.
The series will open on Friday night at 6 p.m., with Game 2 starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday. A third game, if necessary, will follow approximately 30 minutes after the opening game on Saturday has ended.
The Rangers are 12-6 on the road this season and the Eagles are 17-7 at home.
Hinds has won 14 of the last 18 meetings between the two teams dating back to 1998. Northwest's last win in Raymond was back on March 1, 2008.
The two teams also met in the first round of the state playoffs in 2009 and 2012. Two years ago, No. 17 Hinds won 14-5 and 11-7 in Senatobia en route to a 5-0 record and state championship.
Northwest enters the weekend hitting .330 as a team and ranks in the Top 10 in the country in eight statistical categories including hit-by-pitch (72, 4th), slugging percentage (.503, 5th), home runs (37, 6th), doubles (96, 7th), RBIs (307, 7th), on-base percentage (.433, 9th), runs scored (349, 9th) and stolen bases (113, 9th).
Jay King (.437, 13 2Bs, 3B, 6 HR, 54 RBI),
Kramer Hollenbach (.415, 12 2B, 4 HR, 40 RBI) and
Taylor King (.381, 16 2B, 2 3B, 7 HR, 36 RBI) lead the Rangers at the plate.
On the mound, Northwest boasts a 3.40 team ERA, led by a pair of six-game winners in
Matt Ferguson (6-3, 3.30) and
Tanner Cable (6-2, 4.27).
Domenick Carlini (3-2, 2.44, 2 SV, 3 CG) will get the Game 1 start. If needed, all-time saves leader
Tyler Scholl (1-0, 0.39, 6 SV) will be available and ready.
Hinds is hitting .311 as a team, led by a trio of freshmen in Marshall Boggs (.370, 13 2B, 21 RBI), Luke Reynolds (.360, 8 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR) and Matt Jones (.354, 8 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 23 RBI).
On the mound, Hinds has a 4.53 team ERA and is led by Randy Bell who is 6-3 with two saves, two complete games and 45 strikeouts in a team-high 56.1 innings pitched. Casey Sutton (5-2) and Austin Sanders (5-0, 4 SV) have five wins apiece.
Experience could be the biggest factor in this weekend's matchup, with Northwest having 16 sophomores against just five for Hinds. All 16 of those sophomores played a role in last season's run to the state championship game and NJCAA Region 23 Tournament.
The 8-team playoff also includes #4N Holmes at #1S Jones County, #4S East Central at #1N East Mississippi and #3S Pearl River at #2N Northeast. The four weekend winners will advance to the state tournament May 8-10 at the highest north seeded team remaining.
Live video:
www.hindsccsports.net/video/MS_1010.htmLive stats:
sidearmstats.com/northwestms/baseball
