SCOOBA –
Hitting the road for the first time in over three weeks, No. 18 Northwest swept East Mississippi by a pair of 8-2 and 11-3 finals in Scooba on Wednesday night.
Northwest improved to 16-6 and 5-3 in the conference, while East Mississppi remained winless in the MACJC at 3-16 and 0-6 overall.
Game 1 – #18 Northwest 8, EMCC 2
A career-best eight inning outing for
Carson Stinnett set up
Jackson Smith to close things out in the ninth as the Rangers defeated the Lions in the first meeting of the afternoon.
Stinnett tossed six strikeouts and allowed five hits on two runs to remain perfect on the mound at 4-0.
Northwest broke the scoreless tie in the top of the third when
Brayland Skinner's RBI-single through the right side allowed
Hammer Franks to score from third.
Skinner would also reach second on an error on the same play, setting up
Tucker Richmond's RBI-single that would make it a 2-0 lead early.
Hayden Leatherwood and
Tanner Booth got things going for the Rangers in the top of the fourth, reaching base on back-to-back hits.
Ben Van Cleve would then send Leatherwood home from third on a sac fly RBI to right, extending the lead to 3-2.
EMCC made things interesting in the bottom of the fifth as Zarin Cole's two-run homer brought the Lions back within a run at 3-2, but an RBI-single from Van Cleve and a wild pitch gave Northwest a pair of runs back in the eighth to make it a 5-2 advantage.
Northwest would add three more runs for insurance in the top of the ninth, as back-to-back RBI singles from Leatherwood and Booth were followed by a bases loaded walk to
Hammer Franks, pushing the Rangers' lead to its final point of 8-2.
Leatherwood led Northwest at the plate with three hits, followed by two apiece from Booth and Van Cleve (2 RBI).
Reid Blakely (0-2) was credited with the loss for East Mississippi, despite fanning seven Rangers in seven innings of work.
Game 2 – #18 Northwest 11, EMCC 3
Using nine runs over the final two innings, Northwest was able to rally from a 3-1 deficit entering the fifth inning to take the nightcap against East Mississippi and the sweep.
Leatherwood got the Rangers up first with a solo homer in the top of the second, only to see the Lions respond with two runs in the bottom of the third to take a 2-1 lead.
Cole then delivered an RBI-single to make it a 3-1 lead for EMCC in the fourth inning, but the Rangers and
Jake Tyrone would escape a bases loaded jam with no further damage done.
Northwest began to catch a little momentum in the top of the fifth, as Franks smashed a solo shot to right center to bring the Rangers within a run.
With runners in scoring positions and two outs in the sixth, Van Cleve reached base on his third strike thanks to a wild pitch that allowed the tying run to score.
Peyton Mills would then give the Rangers a 5-3 lead off his two-run single.
After
Colton Peel kept the Lions in check for two straight innings of relief, the Rangers came out swinging in the top of the seventh with a total of six runs crossing the plate for Northwest.
The seventh-inning scoring barrage started with
Tucker Richmond's sac fly that made it 6-3, before a two-run single from Van Cleve, an error in right field and an RBI-single from Skinner put EMCC on the ropes at 11-3.
East Mississippi failed to get anything going in the final frame, as Peel made quick work of the Lions to seal the sweep for Northwest.
Northwest scattered a total of 10 hits across the board, led by two apiece from Franks, Leggett and Leatherwood. Franks and Van Cleve also led the Rangers with two RBIs each.
Peel's solid relief effort earned him his first collegiate win (1-0), as the freshman struck out seven over the final three innings.
Northwest will return home to the friendly confines of Jim Miles Field on Friday, March 30 at 3 p.m. against Southwest Mississippi. Live stats and video will be provided through nwccrangers.com.
