SENATOBIA –
Ben Van Cleve finished 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs to lead No. 9 Northwest at the plate in a 9-5 victory against Northeast in Wednesday's Region 23 playoff series opener.
Northwest improved to 32-11 overall while the visiting Tigers dropped to 25-20 on the season.
After Thomas Stevens got Northeast on the board with a solo homer to right field in the opening frame, the Rangers responded with an RBI-single to short from
Tanner Booth that tied the contest at 1-1.
Northeast regained the lead in the second with Braxton Miller's solo homer, only to see Northwest return the favor with seven runs in the bottom of the second.
Kelton Hall's RBI-single through the left side got the Rangers going with a 2-2 tie, before adding an RBI-single from
Brayland Skinner, an RBI-double from
Hayden Leatherwood and a pair of two-run doubles from
Tanner Leggett and
Ben Van Cleve to make it an 8-2 advantage.
Northeast would get one back with another solo homer in the top of the third, this time from Tyler Sanmaniego, but Leggett's sac fly to center would score
Bradley Smith in the bottom half of the inning, pushing the Rangers' lead to 9-3.
Carson Stinnett worked a scoreless frame in the fourth but the Tigers would regain momentum over the next two innings, as RBIs from Stevens and Anthony Lipsey allowed Northeast to chip away at the Northwest lead.
Although Northwest would fail to get additional runs across over the final five frames,
Trent Bunting kept the Tigers at bay with five strikeouts and an unearned run allowed over four solid innings of relief, assuring himself the save, Stinnett the win and the Rangers a 1-0 series lead.
Both teams pounded out 11 hits, with Skinner being the only other Ranger to collect multiple hits, finishing 2-for-5 with an RBI.
Stinnett (7-0) remained unbeaten on the mound, delivering six strikeouts over five complete innings of action.
Dylan Hitchcock fell to 4-2 with the loss, allowing eight earned runs over 1.2 innings of work.
Game 2 of the series is tentatively scheduled for Friday, May 10 at 2 p.m. from Jim Miles Field. If necessary, a third and deciding contest between the two teams will follow immediately after Game 2, with the series winner advancing to next week's NJCAA Region 23 Tournament in Fulton.
