FULTON – Trailing 4-0 in game one and 6-0 in game two, Northwest rallied in the latter innings in both games and got outstanding relief from its bullpen to knock off 12th-ranked Itawamba 7-6 (11 inn.) and 8-6 to sweep a baseball doubleheader at Roy Cresap Field.
Northwest improved to 22-12 overall and 10-6 in the MACJC, sweeping in Fulton for the first time since 2011. Itawamba dropped to 21-9 and 8-6 in the conference.
Game 1 – Northwest 7, #12 Itawamba 6 (11 innings)
Itawamba jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two but was held scoreless the ensuing eight innings as Northwest rallied with seven unanswered runs for the extra-inning win.
Kaleb Barnes' RBI-single put Itawamba on the board after a scoreless first and Hagan Box and Tyreque Reed both followed with RBI-hits to give ICC the 4-0 cushion.
Northwest began to chip away at the Indian lead in the fifth. Herrington walked, took second on a wild pitch and came around to score off an error to make it 4-1 before
Spencer Cayten's solo blast to left made it 4-2 after six.
Herrington's one-out walk in the seventh helped start a Ranger rally again, as he would steal second and score on
Aaron Campbell's sac fly a batter later. Cayten then delivered another huge hit, this time an RBI-triple to right-center, to plate
Dakota Dailey and knot the game at 4-4.
Nathan Harrison (3-3) relieved
Harrison Sandridge with two on and two outs in the seventh and got a flyout to escape the jam. He'd throw 3.2 solid relief innings, scattering four hits, two runs (both unearned), two walks and two strikeouts to eventually setup the Rangers' come-from-behind win.
After both teams went quietly in the 10th, Northwest would rally to plate three in the 11th to pull ahead 7-4.
Brooks Boolos walked, advanced to second on an error, stole third and scored on Campbell's infield single for the go-ahead run. Back-to-back wild pitches then allowed Herrington and Campbell to score for the three-run advantage.
Itawamba scored one run and then loaded the bases in the bottom of the 11th to chase Harrison, making way for
J.G. Lipscomb in a tough situation. Lipscomb, however, got back-to-back groundouts at first to close the door on a 7-6 win.
Cayten was 3-for-6 with two RBIs, finishing a double shy of the cycle, to lead the Rangers at the plate.
Game 2 – Northwest 8, #12 Itawamba 6
Itawamba jumped out to a big lead again in the nightcap, using a four-run third to lead 6-0, before eight unanswered for the Rangers over the final four frames allowed Northwest to complete the sweep.
Tyreque Reed's RBI-double was followed by an RBI-single from Russ Payne and two sacrifice flies as ICC led comfortably, 6-0, after three on Ranger starter
Kyle Moore.
That's about all the offense ICC could muster up, as Northwest's bullpen did its job in holding the Indians scoreless the rest of the night. After a clean fourth from Moore,
Cody McGarrity,
Trey Morrison,
Drew Hurst and Lipscomb combined for four hits, four strikeouts, two walks and no runs the final three frames.
The Ranger comeback started in the fourth, with Campbell reaching on a walk and Cayten hitting a double into left. Both would come around to score on a wild pitch and
Zack Pope sac fly to make it 6-2.
Hunter White led off the fifth with a single and scored two batters later on Herrington's RBI-single before Dailey's RBI-single to right cut the Indian deficit to 6-4.
With all the momentum heading into the final frame, Northwest took full advantage to plate four runs off four hits and one Indian error to push ahead 8-6. Campbell's two-run blast to left, his fourth home run of the year, knotted the game at 6-6. Cayten then singled and eventually scored on an error before White's RBI-double to left-center plated
Baron Davies.
Itawamba rallied to load the bases in the bottom of the seventh with one out before Lipscomb relieved Hurst on the mound. Lipscomb allowed a leadoff single before back-to-back strikeouts of Cody Pate and Drake Wallace shut the door on his ninth save of the year and another Ranger come-from-behind victory.
Lipscomb moved into second place on Northwest's all-time saves list with his 10th save and is one shy of tying Tyler Scholl's school-record 11 set during the 2013-14 seasons.
Dailey, Campbell, Cayten and White all had multiple hits in the nightcap. Morrison improved to 3-0 on the mound with one shutout inning.
Northwest will continue a 10-game road swing on Friday, April 14 at Mississippi Gulf Coast.
