SENATOBIA – Extra innings were no problem for Northwest softball on Wednesday afternoon, as sophomore
Maddy Politte delivered a walk-off RBI-single to right center, sealing the Game 2 win and the sweep against East Mississippi.
Northwest advanced its overall record to 8-8-1 and 2-2 in the MACJC, while EMCC remained winless on the season at 0-9 and 0-4 in conference play.
Game 1 – Northwest 5, East Mississippi 2
Behind six solid innings from
Lacey Coats, the Rangers held off the visiting Lady Lions to win its first MACJC contest of the season.
Coats (3-3, 1.80 ERA) struck out three against five walks and surrendered only one earned run to keep the East Mississippi bats in check.
Northwest jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first behind an RBI-double from
Delta Claire Newman and an RBI-triple from
Madison Crosby.
After EMCC responded with a run in the top of the second, the Rangers widened the gap a little with a run of their own in the bottom of the frame, thanks to a fielder's choice RBI to short from
Katie Brownlee. The additional run made it a 3-1 lead for Northwest.
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth, Northwest got another run in as
Gracey Griggs was hit at the plate to bring in Politte.
Later in the sixth,
Kristen Perrigo would tee off on a solo home run, the first of her collegiate career, pushing the Rangers' lead to 5-1.
After EMCC began to make some noise in the seventh and added an additional run, Brownlee checked in for Coats in relief and sent the Lady Lions down with back-to-back popups and a groundout to second to earn the save and preserve the 5-2 win.
Five different Rangers made up the team's five hits for Game 1, including Perrigo's home run that came on a pinch hit opportunity in the sixth.
Madelyn Wilkes (0-4) was handed the loss for the Lady Lions, surrendering four earned runs and four walks.
Game 2 – Northwest 5, East Mississippi 4 (8 inn.)
Before Politte's walk-off winner in the bottom of the eighth, the Rangers found themselves having to rally with a two-run seventh inning to force extras and eventually, the win.
Newman got Northwest on the board first with an RBI-single up the middle in the bottom of the first inning, but the lead wouldn't last long as EMCC put up three runs on four hits in the top of the third to go up 3-1.
Neither team would make a move on the scoreboard again until the bottom of the sixth, when Brownlee's solo shot to left field brought the Rangers within one, 3-2.
EMCC would push the deficit back to two in the top of the seventh, as Wilkes' RBI-single to center gave the Lady Lions a 4-2 advantage and three outs away from denying the Rangers a sweep.
After seeing Politte and
Brittni Beard reach on a single and a double, Newman single handedly tied the contest with a two-run single to right center, forcing extra innings.
Brownlee made quick work of the Lady Lions in the top of the eighth, as EMCC went three up, three down to give Northwest a shot to win it in the bottom of the frame.
With two outs and runner on third, Politte brought
Taylor Lott home on an RBI-single to right field for the walk-off win and the sweep.
Both teams combined for 19 hits, with 10 from Northwest.
Shelby Wilson went 3-for-4 at the plate to lead the Rangers, while Newman and Politte finished with two hits apiece.
Brownlee (3-2, 4.30 ERA) picked up the win for Northwest, allowing one run and two strikeouts against a pair of walks in five innings of relief.
Sarah Johnson started the contest and struck out two while surrendering a pair of earned runs and two walks.
Northwest will hit the road this weekend for more conference competition at top-ranked Jones College on Saturday, March 23 at 12/2 p.m. Live stats will be available for both games on nwccrangers.com.
