SENATOBIA – In a matchup of two of the nation's top home run hitting teams on Friday at Jim Miles Field, it was the host Rangers who hit five against just one for No. 16 Gulf Coast, that helped Northwest sweep a doubleheader by 9-8 and 6-5 finals.
Northwest improved to 22-10 overall and 12-6 in the MACJC, while Gulf Coast fell to 25-9 and 9-7 in conference play. The Rangers have won eight of their last nine games overall against the Bulldogs.
It's back-to-back wins over nationally-ranked programs for Northwest, also defeating No. 19 Itawamba 6-0 in game two on Tuesday.
Northwest will welcome Mississippi Delta (14-19, 6-10 MACJC) to town on Wednesday, April 18 for a 3 p.m. doubleheader during its 10-game homestand.
Game 1 – Northwest 9, Gulf Coast 8
Locked in a 5-5 tie through six innings, it was a four-run seventh for the Rangers – all with two outs – that allowed Northwest to hold off Gulf Coast in the opener.
Tanner Leggett's RBI-double and a two-run blast by
Brant Blaylock gave Northwest a 3-1 lead after one.
Single runs for the Bulldogs in the first, second, third, fourth and sixth innings was answered by the Rangers' three-run first and Blaylock's RBI-single and
Hayden Leatherwood's sac fly in the fifth.
Ian Hawkins and
Daniel Shelton held the Bulldogs to just one run in 4.1 innings of relief, making way for the Rangers' go-ahead runs in the seventh.
After back-to-back fly outs to start the frame, Leggett kept the inning alive with a single that was followed by Blaylock's two-run blast to left-center, to make it 7-5 Northwest. Ty Barnes was chased from the mound and
Will Brooks promptly welcomed Bailey Hargrave to the game with a two-run triple to make it 9-5.
Northwest took that four-run lead into the ninth but had to hold off a big Gulf Coast rally. The Bulldogs loaded the bases on Blaylock with two outs before a bases-clearing triple for Dylan Menhennett quickly made it 9-8. Alden Davis then flied out to deep center to end the game.
Blaylock was 4-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs to lead an 11-hit attack and picked up his second save of the year. Shelton (1-0) recorded his first collegiate win in two relief innings.
Game 2 – Northwest 6, Gulf Coast 5
Nathan Harrison logged his third straight quality start on the mound and Northwest led 4-0 after five innings, but needed
Hayden Leatherwood's walk-off single in the seventh to close out a two-game sweep.
Leatherwood gave Northwest a 2-0 lead in the first with his eighth home run of the year.
Back-to-back jacks by Brooks and
Grant McMinn extended the Ranger lead to 4-0 after two.
Harrison tossed five shutout frames and was cruising on the mound until a 15-minute weather delay gave the visiting Bulldogs new life.
Five straight singles for Gulf Coast, including three RBI-singles from Logan McGrew, Castor Lee and Ike Williams, cut the Ranger lead to 4-3 after six.
Northwest got one run back in the bottom half on
Justin Milam's two-out RBI-double to left to make it 5-3 Northwest.
Late-inning drama ensued again, with Gulf Coast tying the game on two swings of the bat. Alden Davis tripled to center and scored on a wild pitch before Brandon Parker's nation-leading 19th home run tied the game at 5-5.
Reed Harding relieved
Drew Hurst and got a huge 4-6-3 double play and strikeout to keep the game tied.
Leggett's leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh, followed by a walk to Blaylock, made way for Leatherwood's single to second that allowed Leggett to score the winning run for a 6-5 Ranger victory.
