SENATOBIA – Pitching was the storyline on Thursday afternoon at Jim Miles Field, as Northwest split a non-conference twinbill against Calhoun, finishing with a 3-0 win and a loss by the same score.
Freshman
Harrison Sandridge (2-0) kept Calhoun off the board in Game 1, tossing seven innings while striking out a career-high seven batters and surrendering just three hits.
In the nightcap, Calhoun freshman Seth Gulley went the distance, throwing a no-hitter for the Warhawks.
Northwest moved to 9-3 on the season with the split. Calhoun moved to 8-7 on the year.
Freshman
Will Brooks was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the fourth to reach first base and then followed with a pair of stolen bases. A throwing error from the catcher sent Brooks in from third to break the scoreless tie.
Grant McMinn's RBI-double in the bottom of the sixth brought Brooks around home, while McMinn was quickly scored on the next at-bat by
Justin Milam's RBI-double that gave Northwest a 3-0 win.
Milam led the Rangers at the plate, finishing 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. McMinn and Campbell each finished with a double, with McMinn adding an RBI.
J.G. Lipscomb entered to close out the ninth, recording his third save of the year and fourth of his career.
Brooks also collected three stolen bases to add to his season total of four.
Scoreless after three innings in the nightcap, an errant throw to first base in the top of the fourth scored J.D. Isbell to give Calhoun a 1-0 lead.
Justin Booker followed with a two-run single to left field that drove in the winning runs for Calhoun.
Northwest had no answer for Gulley in the second game, with the freshman's only blemish being
Aaron Campbell's walk in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Ian Hawkins (0-1) gave up two earned runs and struck out five batters in four innings of work.
Drew Hurst and
Trey Morrison finished the final three innings in relief and combined for three strikeouts.
Northwest will hit the road for a rematch at Calhoun on Saturday, March 4. The non-conference twinbill will begin at noon from Tanner, Ala.