Aaron Campbell
Gather Lacefield
Aaron Campbell was 2-for-3 with a solo home run vs East Central.
2
Northwest NWCC 29-20
3
Winner East Central ECCC 37-15
Northwest NWCC
29-20
2
Final
3
East Central ECCC
37-15
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Northwest NWCC 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 6 3
East Central ECCC 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 X 3 12 2

W: Peyton Cain (10-1) L: Minton, Dalton (3-1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | by Kevin Maloney

Warriors Edge Rangers 3-2 in Regional Opener

DECATUR – Northwest squandered a few scoring chances early and hung in the game with solid defense before falling just short, 3-2, to 10th-ranked and region tournament host East Central Thursday night in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament opener for both teams.

Northwest fell to 29-20 and will face No. 1 LSU Eunice (50-5) in an elimination game Friday at 2 p.m. ECCC will face Jones County at 6 p.m. Friday in the semifinals.

Trailing 2-0 in the sixth after failing to score with two on and no outs in the fifth, the Rangers got on the board thanks to a Warrior throwing error from left field. After a leadoff double from LeeMarcus Boyd, Hunter Wilson's single moved him to third before scoring on the error for a 2-1 deficit. Still alive in the inning with the tying run at second, Aaron Campbell was thrown out at third trying to advance on an infield error and Wilson was then thrown out at second to kill the rally.

ECCC answered with a single run of its own in the bottom half on a bunt single from Michael Davis, making it 3-1 after six.

Northwest escaped damage in the eighth after Dalton Minton induced an inning-ending 6-3 double play to keep it a two-run game, one of three turned by the Rangers in the game.

Wilson led off the ninth with a long, fly ball out to left which Matthew Mitchell caught with his back against the wall. Campbell then unloaded on a 1-1 pitch a batter later with a solo shot to left-center, making it 3-2 Warriors. Ryan Skalnik flied out and Jamell Newson followed with a ground out to end the game. Newson was ahead in the count 3-0 before two very questionable strike calls went in the home team's favor.

Minton (3-1) was the tough-luck loser, scattering 12 hits, one earned run, career-high nine strikeouts and two walks in eight innings of work. Peyton Cain improved to 10-1 with a complete-game, six-hitter, allowing two runs with three walks and three strikeouts.

Boyd and Campbell combined to go 4-for-7 from the plate but the rest of the team was just 2-for-21. Davis led East Central with a 3-for-4 outing with a pair of RBIs.