MILLINGTON, Tenn. – A dominant Game 1 outing from
Carson Stinnett lifted No. 20 Northwest to a win but four errors in the nightcap would cost the Rangers the Tuesday afternoon sweep at Southwest Tennessee.
Northwest moved to 9-3 on the season with the split as the Saluqis improved to 8-11 overall. The Rangers won the season series 3-1.
Game 1 – #
20 Northwest 4, Southwest Tennessee 1
Sophomore transfer
Carson Stinnett brought the heat in six innings of work, allowing a single run on three hits and a season-high 10 strikeouts against two walks, improving his Ranger record to 3-0 on the mound.
Stinnett's lone run came in the first inning, thanks to Jackson Little's RBI-single through the left side that gave Southwest Tennessee a brief 1-0 lead.
A pair of leadoff walks in the top of the second got the wheels turning for the Rangers, as
Tanner Booth's sac fly to left scored
Kelton Hall to tie the game at one apiece.
Northwest would take the lead for good in the third inning, as a sac fly to right from
Tanner Leggett allowed
Brayland Skinner to cross the plate, making it a 2-1 advantage for the Rangers.
Leggett kept the Rangers going in the fifth, as his RBI-double to right center brought in
Bradley Smith to make it a 3-1 lead. Smith would later round the bases on a solo homer to left, his first of the season, pushing the lead to its final point of 4-1.
Aside from Stinnett's solid performance, sophomore right-hander
Reed Harding also provided the save for the Rangers in the bottom of the seventh, allowing a one-out single before delivering a strikeout and an flyout to right to end the contest.
Nathan Ruble (0-1) got the loss for Southwest Tennessee, striking out three batters and allowing two earned runs in four innings of action.
Both teams totaled just four hits apiece as Smith led the Ranger bats by going 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Game 2 –
Southwest Tennessee 4, #20 Northwest 3
An otherwise solid performance from
Jake Tyrone was overshadowed by four costly errors, including two in the bottom of the sixth, as Northwest was denied the sweep in a one-run loss to Southwest Tennessee.
Tyrone pitched 5.2 innings and surrendered five hits and an earned run against a career-high nine strikeouts and two walks.
Northwest scratched across one run apiece in the second, third and fourth innings, which included a solo home run from
Kelton Hall, a bases loaded walk, and an RBI-single from
Hammer Franks.
Southwest Tennessee closed the gap in the bottom of the fifth, as the Saluqis scored on a failed pickoff attempt and an RBI-single from Evan Crenshaw.
That gap would soon turn into a Saluqi lead in the sixth, as an error and a passed ball sent two more runs home, giving Southwest Tennessee a 4-3 advantage.
Hall would get on base to leadoff the seventh, but that's as close as Northwest would come to staging a comeback, as Hall was caught stealing second and reliever Nate Pianto sent Stovall and Skinner down swinging.
Cooper Dowell (0-1) was credited with the loss for Northwest, as part of three relief pitchers that came on in the sixth. Will Nash got the win for the Saluqis as Pianto picked up the save.
Northwest will aim to get back on the winning track on Thursday, hosting Mississippi Delta and Coahoma as part of a non-conference tripleheader. The two guests will face off at 11 a.m. before the Rangers matchup with the Trojans at 2 p.m. and the Tigers at 5 p.m.
Both games will feature a live broadcast and live stats through nwccrangers.com.
