FULTON – Although ninth-ranked Northwest once again jumped out to an early lead for the second day in a row, the opposition stormed back to take a 12-11 victory as No. 6 Pearl River ended the Rangers' season in the Region 23 Tournament on Thursday.
After
Dalton Fowler sent the Wildcats down swinging with a pair of strikeouts and a 2-6 caught stealing in the top of the first, the Rangers would strike first, using back-to-back singles from
Brayland Skinner and
Tanner Leggett to set up
Hayden Leatherwood's sac fly to right.
Ben Van Cleve immediately followed with a two-run homer to center, his 13th of the season, adding two more runs for the Rangers. PRCC would make a pitching change after a pair of walks, only to see
Hammer Franks tee off on a three-run shot to right field to give Northwest a 6-0 cushion.
Pearl River quickly began to cut into the Northwest lead, as Shemar Page got the Wildcats on the board with a solo homer in the top of the second.
A five-run top of the fourth inning for the Wildcats tied the game up at 6-6 and a pinch hit RBI-single from Kasey Donaldson allowed PRCC to go ahead 7-6 in the fifth.
Kelton Hall would issue a response in the bottom half of the fifth, delivering an RBI-single to short with an error that would plate another Ranger run, sending Northwest back ahead at 8-7.
Northwest would hold the lead until the top of the eighth inning, when Pearl River would score four off back-to-back two-run homers from Page and Austen Izzio to give the Wildcats an 11-8 advantage.
With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, Van Cleve delivered once again with a grand slam to deep left center to force extra innings.
Northwest had a chance to win the game in the 10th inning with two outs and the bases loaded, but a groundout to the pitcher would allow Pearl River to escape the jam.
Reece Ewing would put the Wildcats ahead in the 11th with what would prove to be the winning run, thanks to an RBI-single to right field that scored Dexter Jordan.
Pearl River outhit the Rangers 12-10 in the slugfest but committed three errors on the day compared to just one for Northwest.
Van Cleve closed his Northwest career on a high note, going 3-for-5 with two home runs and five RBIs to lead the Rangers at the plate.
Brayland Skinner also finished 2-for-4 on the day and seven different Rangers finished with at least one hit.
Jerod Meggs (2-3) got the win in relief for Pearl River, tossing two innings before being ejected after the 10th inning. Evan Bynum closed things out with the save (1) for the Wildcats and Reid Reynolds struck out seven in 5.2 innings of work after relieving starter Colin Danley in the first inning.
Franks (1-1) was credited with the loss for Northwest, striking out two against three walks and an earned run in two complete frames. Fowler lasted 3.1 innings with five strikeouts but allowed five earned runs against four walks.
Northwest concludes its season at 33-14 overall as PRCC improved to 38-12. The Rangers' sophomore class also captured 63 combined wins, the most in over a decade, and helped guide the team to a No. 9 final ranking.
