SENATOBIA – Behind a combined 20 hits and a pair of solid outings on the mound from
Carson Stinnett and
Jake Tyrone, No. 16 Northwest won its seventh straight contest and nine of its last 10 with a midweek sweep against Holmes on Tuesday evening.
Northwest improved to 20-6 on the season and 9-3 in the MACJC, while Holmes dropped to 21-9 and 4-8 in the conference.
Game 1 – #16 Northwest 2, Holmes 1
In a classic pitchers' duel between Stinnett and Holmes' Nate Oswalt, the Oxford native gave the Rangers the edge with three strikeouts against two walks and an earned run in seven innings of work.
Northwest struck first in the second inning, as back-to-back singles from
Peyton Mills and
Garrett Riggs would set up an RBI-double from
Tanner Leggett to plate Mills from third.
Bryland Skinner's RBI-single in the top of the fourth would help Holmes tie it up at 1-1, but the Rangers responded with a run in the bottom of the frame off
Tucker Richmond's triple down the line in right field to pull back ahead at 2-1.
Both pitching staffs took the game back over from there as Holmes and Northwest combined for just three hits over the remaining four and a half innings.
Colton Peel struck out five in the final two innings of action, earning his second career save.
Garrett Riggs went 3-for-3 at the plate to lead the Rangers while Mills and Richmond each finished 2-for-4.
Oswalt was handed a tough loss for the Bulldogs, despite dishing out 10 strikeouts over 7.2 innings.
Game 2 – #16 Northwest 7, Holmes 3
For the second time this season,
Hammer Franks finished one hit shy of the cycle with a single, double and a homer in the Rangers' nightcap victory against Holmes.
Franks went 4-for-4 with three RBIs to lead Northwest at the plate, along with a 2-for-3 effort from
Cade Spratlin.
Holmes got on the board first with Walker Yuille's two-run double to left in the top of the first inning, sending the Rangers down early 2-0.
Franks' solo homer in the bottom of the second would cut the Bulldogs' lead to 2-1, until Anthony Fidanza's single to right gave Holmes another run to make it 3-1 in the top of the third inning.
Northwest would open things up over the bottom halves of the third and fourth innings, as Franks and
Clark Stovall delivered back-to-back RBI-doubles to set up an RBI-single from Spratlin that allowed the Rangers to take the lead at 4-3.
An RBI-single from Franks and a sac fly from Spratlin in the fourth allowed two more runs for the Rangers and a balk in the fifth sent Richmond in from third, pulling Northwest ahead 7-3.
Jake Tyrone tossed six innings with seven strikeouts against three walks with an earned run allowed to improve to 2-0 on the mound.
Jackson Smith tossed the final frame for the Rangers in relief, fanning two Bulldog batters.
Northwest totaled 11 hits in the nightcap and were issued five walks.
Dalton Massingill was credited with the loss for Holmes (3-1), striking out four against four walks and four earned runs.
Northwest will hit the road to 18th-ranked Mississippi Gulf Coast on Saturday, April 6 to kick off a season-ending stretch where the Rangers will play six of their final eight regular season doubleheaders on the road.
