RAYMOND – Northwest played Hinds to a split Friday afternoon at Rene T. Warren Field, dropping the opener 6-1 before an emphatic 20-8 run-rule win in the finale in five innings.
Northwest moved to 14-8 overall and 8-6 in the MACJC while Hinds moved to 9-20 and 6-10 in league play.
(Game 1) A four-run third inning, highlighted by a bases-clearing double by pitcher Amberlee Nix, gave Hinds a 5-0 lead and Nix tossed a complete game to also earn the win in the circle.
Northwest loaded the bases in its half of the second but came up empty after an inning-ending strikeout. Hinds took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom half, scoring off a throwing error.
Trailing 5-0 in the fourth,
Kayla Andrada singled, advanced to third on
Ashton Needham's single and later scored the Rangers' lone run on
Sallie Rose Carver's RBI-groundout.
Alexis Kinard got the run back for Hinds in the fifth on an RBI-single, making the final 6-1.
Nix went the distance for Hinds, scattering seven hits, one run and two strikeouts.
Hailee Kolwyck (3-3) took the loss in 2.2 innings of work.
Avery McCullough tossed the final three frames for Northwest and allowed one run off three hits.
(Game 2) After a disappointing effort in the opener, Northwest came out with a purpose on the back end of the doubleheader, scoring 20 runs off a season-high 17 hits to cruise to a 12-run win.
Northwest scored four runs in each of the first three innings, highlighted by
Kat Holley's three-run homer in the first, Andrada's two-run single in the second and
Heath Griffith's grand slam in the third.
Hinds plated five in the second inning, thanks to a pair of big two-run singles by Lexie Guion and Meagan Duchesne, and two more in the third to cut it to 12-7 after three but Northwest put any hopes of a comeback to rest with a seven-run fourth inning.
Tori Luke,
Erin Claire Stegall,
Kailey Walker, Andrada and Holley all had run-scoring hits in the frame as Northwest totaled eight in the inning.
Luke went the distance in the circle, allowing four earned runs off 13 hits with four strikeouts, to move to 7-4.
All nine Rangers in the order had at least one hit, led by Holley's 3-for-4 effort with four RBIs and
Allison Williams' 3-for-4 outing. Griffith added a career-high five RBIs and three runs scored, finishing 2-for-4.
Northwest will return home on Tuesday, March 29, playing host to 3rd-ranked East Central at 2/4 p.m.