SENATOBIA – Northwest earned a pivotal home split against Hinds on Saturday at Jim Miles Field, using
Cody Cooper's walk-off fielder's choice to win the opener, 4-3, before falling 5-3 in the nightcap.
Northwest, ranked 20th in the NJCAA, moved to 24-14 overall and 16-8 in the conference while Hinds moved to 23-17 and 15-9 in MACJC play.
(Game 1) Northwest snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Eagles with a thrilling 4-3 victory in the opener, loading the bases in the bottom of the ninth on three walks before Cooper's chopper to third allowed
LeeMarcus Boyd to slide under the tag at home for the winning run.
Tied at 2-2 after three innings,
Jake McPhail's two-out, RBI-double down the left field line scored
Jamell Newson to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead they would take into the ninth.
Colt Smith threw seven solid innings but earned a no-decision, scattering four hits, two runs and five strikeouts against one walk. It marked the seventh quality start of the year for the USM signee.
Hinds rallied to tie the game at 3-3 in the top of the ninth off reliever
Jonathan Lindsey. Chase Cockrell led off the inning with a single, was sacrificed to second, advanced to third on a passed ball and then scored off Cooper's throwing error trying to throw Cockrell out at third.
Cooper redeemed himself in the bottom half of the inning, however, with his bases-loaded fielder's choice scoring the winning run.
Lindsey allowed one run off three hits in two innings of work to improve to 3-2 on the mound. Timothy Jordan took the loss for Hinds in 4.1 innings of relief.
Northwest was held to only five hits, with Newson going 2-for-3 with a run scored. Boyd,
Ryan Skalnik and McPhail had the other three hits. Hunter Bell led Hinds at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs.
(Game 2) Back-to-back-to-back doubles in the top of the seventh helped Hinds break a 3-3 tie as the Eagles bounced back from a walk-off loss in the opener to take a 5-3 win in the nightcap.
Hinds pulled ahead 2-1 in the fourth on Ryley Balch's two-out single to center but Skalnik immediately responded to help the Rangers tie the game at 2-2 on a leadoff homer to left in the bottom half of the inning.
Hunter Bell hit a leadoff home run in the fifth to put the Eagles up 3-2 but not before
Aaron Campbell's one-out shot in the sixth tied the game once again at 3-3 after six.
Hinds pulled ahead for good in the seventh with three consecutive doubles. Bell's scored Will Craft for the go-ahead run before Acy Owen's double scored Bell to make it 5-3.
Jarod Wright got back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat.
Northwest got the tying run on first in the bottom half of the seventh before a bang-bang play at first ended the game.
Weather permitting, Northwest will resume a seven-game homestand on Wednesday, April 27 against East Mississippi. Check nwccrangers.com or our Twitter feed (@NWCC_Rangers) for updates on the schedule due to weather.
