MERIDIAN – Northwest received some help from the bats on Saturday afternoon, churning out a combined 24 hits in a conference split at Meridian.

Northwest moved to 26-16 overall and 14-10 in the MACJC, slipping into a three-way tie for fifth place entering the last week of the regular season. Meridian fell to 23-19 overall and 12-14 in the conference.

Northwest ended the 10-game April road swing at 6-4 and will return to the friendly confines of Jim Miles Field on Tuesday, May 2 against Northeast.

Game 1 – Meridian 8, Northwest 5

A four-run first inning brought the Rangers some momentum early, but the Eagles rebounded in the middle innings to take the 8-5 victory.

Northwest quickly dispatched Meridian starter Briar Russell by loading the bases off Aaron Campbell's single through the right side. Spencer Cayten would follow through on the next at-bat, sending a double through the left side to score David Herrington and Dakota Dailey, giving the Rangers the early 2-0 advantage. 

Grant McMinn kept the Rangers going in the top of the first with his RBI-single through the left side, scoring Campbell. Cayten would deliver the fourth and final run of the inning off Brody Catt's sac fly RBI, giving Northwest the 4-0 lead.

Meridian began to get things going in the bottom of the third, scoring the first run of the day on Chase Coker's groundout to second. J.D. Gann would then send a two-run homer to left to bring the Eagles within one, 4-3.

Meridian kept up its newfound momentum in the fourth inning, tying the contest on C.J. Hughes' sac fly to left field. The Eagles would then take the lead later in the fifth inning, scoring a pair of runs from Landon Keller's double to right center.

Trailing 6-4 after seven, Northwest cut into the two-run deficit in the top of the eighth with Catt's solo homer to left field. Meridian would add two more runs in the bottom of the inning, however, to take the 8-5, Game 1 victory.

Dalton Minton (6-3) was hit with the loss for the Rangers, despite striking out five Eagle batters in six innings. Drew Hurst finished out the final two innings in relief.

After replacing Russell early in the first, Logan McDowell went the rest of the way for Meridian and struck out nine Rangers, allowing one earned run.

Both teams were nearly even in the hits category, with Meridian out-hitting Northwest 11-10. Cayten led the Rangers at the plate, finishing 2-for-5 with a double and a pair of RBIs. Hunter White also went 2-for-4 on the day.

Game 2 – Northwest 8, Meridian 1

Jarod Wright delivered one of his best outings of the season in the nightcap, helping the Rangers to the 8-1 win behind his fifth career complete game.

Wright (5-3) limited Meridian's offense for the entirety of the contest, striking out seven Eagle batters and allowing one earned run. His seven strikeouts moved him into a tie for fifth in program history with 117 punch outs. 

Much like the first game, the Rangers found a way to score early. Campbell and McMinn delivered a pair of RBI-singles to center field to give Northwest the 2-0 lead in the first.

Northwest scattered five runs over the next four innings, thanks in part to Herrington's RBI-single in the second inning and McMinn's RBI-double down the left field line in the fourth. The Rangers would get an added boost in the fifth, with Zack Pope's three-run bomb to left field, pushing the Northwest lead to 7-0.

Zack Carter launched a solo home run in sixth to give Meridian its only run of the day. The Rangers would counter with a run in the seventh off an error by the shortstop to seal the 8-1 victory.

Northwest out-hit the Eagles 14-4 in Game 2, with Herrington leading the way at 3-for-5 with an RBI. Several other Rangers finished with hits in the contest, including two apiece from Catt, Cayten, Dailey and McMinn.