ELLISVILLE – After dropping a 15-12 slugfest against 2nd-ranked Jones County to open MACJC Tournament play, Northwest staved off elimination with a 9-4 upset win of 11th-ranked Meridian on Friday to advance to the conference tournament semifinals.
Northwest improved to 29-18 overall and 3-0 in elimination games this postseason, while Meridian ended its season at 39-12 overall.
The Rangers advance to play the loser of JCJC/East Central at 2 p.m. on Saturday in Ellisville. Win or lose, Northwest has already clinched a spot in next weekend's Region 23 Tournament to be hosted by the conference champion.
Northwest got off to a great start in the bottom of the first inning, tallying five runs in the frame.
LeeMarcus Boyd doubled down the left field line and would be the first Ranger to cross the plate thanks to a wild pitch. After a bases loaded walk from
Jamell Newson, Northwest added three more runs with a sac fly from
Cody Cooper and a pair of RBI-singles from
Jake McPhail and
Aleck Hobson to jump out to the early 5-0 lead.
Meridian issued a response in the third inning, however, as the Eagles pulled within two runs off Jaylon Keys' RBI-single and Luke Craig's two-RBI single up the middle.
With the lead trimmed down to 5-3, the Rangers returned the favor in the bottom of the fifth as a throwing error on Cooper's strikeout allowed
David Herrington to score from third and extend the lead back to three runs.
After a solo homer from Blake Fields to open the sixth, the Ranger defense doubled down and held Meridian scoreless for the remainder of the contest.
Northwest continued to add runs, starting with
Ryan Skalnik's RBI-single to left field in the bottom of the sixth. Leading 7-4 entering the seventh, the Rangers plated the winning runs in the bottom of the frame thanks to an RBI-double from Newson and a passed ball that allowed Cooper to score from second.
Jarod Wright collected his fifth win of the season and gave up four runs on 10 hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings of work.
Jonathan Lindsey finished the final two innings in relief and faced six Meridian batters, striking out one.
Northwest scattered 10 hits throughout the lineup, with Herrington and McPhail finishing with two each. Six other Rangers were credited with one hit apiece.
Tomorrow's semifinal game will be carried on
www.nwccrangers.com/watch. Live stats will also be available.
