SENATOBIA – The Northwest softball team split its long-awaited home-opener with Holmes on Saturday, winning the opener 2-0 behind
Lacey Coats' complete-game performance before falling 12-11 in extras in the finale.
Northwest, which waited 326 days to play a game on its home field, moved to 5-7-1, while Holmes moved to 3-16.
A day earlier, the Rangers lost 5-3 to Bevill State and tied Mississippi Delta 6-6 in Oxford at FNC Park.
Game 1 – Northwest 2, Holmes 0
Coats struck out a career-high seven and scattered two hits on 88 pitches in a complete-game shutout for her first collegiate victory (1-2) in the circle.
Back-to-back doubles by
Katie Brownlee and
Maddy Politte plated the game's first run in the third.
Brittni Beard's two-out RBI-single to right in the sixth plated a huge insurance run to make the final 2-0.
Northwest finished with nine hits, two each by Brownlee, Beard and
Madison Crosby. Holmes' lone two hits came by way of Teagun Barnes.
Game 2 – Holmes 12, Northwest 11 (8)
Northwest rallied three different times down three runs in the second, seventh and eighth innings, but just couldn't complete the comeback in a dogfight in the finale.
Down 3-0 in the second, Northwest rallied for four runs on four hits and a Lady Bulldog error to take its first lead, 4-3.
Shelby Wilson had a two-run single, Politte added an RBI-single and the Rangers went ahead on a wild pitch that scored Wilson.
Beard's two-out, two-run home run in the fifth pushed the Northwest advantage to 6-3.
A disastrous sixth inning saw Holmes plate six runs on four hits and three Ranger errors to retake a 9-6 lead after sending 11 batters to the plate. Back-to-back errors chased Brownlee from the circle before
Laura Fields' two-run single to left put the Lady Bulldogs in front.
Down to its final out in the bottom of the seventh, an error at third made it 9-7 and
Delta Claire Newman's clutch two-run single down the line in left tied the game at 9-9 to force extras.
Holmes plated three more runs in the eighth on Teagun Barnes' three-run homer with two away to push back ahead 12-9.
Northwest would not go down without a fight, however, using back-to-back-to-back infield singles from
Cylie Robertson, Wilson and Coats to pull within 12-10. Politte's sac fly cut the deficit to one before consecutive groundouts stranded the tying run at third.
Brooklyne Eubanks worked 5.1 frames for Holmes to earn the win, scattering seven runs on six hits, while Mary Clayton Burrell picked up her first save. Coats fell to 1-3 in the circle after allowing six runs in 2.2 relief innings.
Northwest will return to action on Monday, March 18 traveling to Cordova, Tenn., to face Southwest Tennessee (18-7). First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 2:30 p.m. from St. Benedict High School, with live video and live stats available through nwccrangers.com.