SENATOBIA - Northwest couldn't have asked for better outings from Josh Hill and Colton Peel on Saturday afternoon.

Behind a near-complete game performance from Hill and a clutch effort from Peel, the Rangers notched a sweep against 14th-ranked Jones College at Jim Miles Field, improving to 14-10 overall and 8-6 in conference play.

Freshman John Luke Marlin also picked up the save in Game 1, as the Rangers won their fourth consecutive contest. Meanwhile, the Bobcats fell to 15-13 on the season and 8-6 in the MACCC.

Northwest was also led by home runs from Peyton Puckett, Kelton Hall and Cade Spratlin in the opener, while Garrett Riggs kept the Rangers in striking distance with a solo homer in the third inning of Game 2.

With the sweep, Northwest earned its first victory against Jones since defeating a No. 1-ranked Bobcat team on March 24, 2017. Saturday's sweep also marks the first one against the Bobcats since the Rangers defeated Jones in the first round of the then-MACJC Playoffs in 2013.

Next up for the Rangers will be a midweek doubleheader at Holmes on Wednesday, March 24. The twinbill is slated for a 2 P.M. start time, with both games carried live on holmesccmedia.com.


Game 1 - Northwest 5, #14 Jones College 2

Hill's best outing of the season made the difference for Northwest, as the Mississippi State transfer kept Jones College off the scoreboard for eight innings in a 5-2 victory.

Hill (1-1) went 8.2 innings as the Bobcats tried to rally in the top of the ninth. With two runners on, Marlin entered the game in relief and surrendered a walk to load the bases, before Murray Hutchinson flied out to Caleb Hobson in center field for the third and final out.

Puckett led things off in the top of the first with a solo homer over the videoboard in left center field and Peyton Mills followed with a single up the middle, as the Rangers took a 2-0 lead.

Northwest tacked on a run in the second with Spratlin's RBI-single through the right side and Hall's solo shot in the third pushed the lead to 4-0.

From there, Kameron Partridge settled in for the Bobcats and sent the Rangers down in order over the next three innings. The Jones pitcher had four strikeouts through 6.1 innings of work, before being pulled in the seventh after Spratlin's solo homer to right.

Northwest struggled to get anything going in the final inning and a half against reliever Preston Ratliff, but Hill continued to keep the Bobcats off the board until the top of the ninth.

A fielder's choice from Garrett Clendenning allowed the Bobcats to plate a run and an RBI-single from Hunter French brought the deficit down to three runs. That's when Marlin entered the game to record the final out, earning his second career save.

Northwest finished with eight hits as Hall and Spratlin accounted for two hits apiece. Hobson, Mills, Puckett and Dylan Hale also finished with one hit each.

French led Jones with two of the team's seven hits in the loss.


Game 2 - Northwest 3, #14 Jones College 2

Trailing 2-1 with one out in the bottom of the seventh, Northwest got the bats going with an RBI-single from Hale and after loading the bases, Spratlin scored from third on a wild pitch to lift the Rangers to the thrilling victory.

Scoreless after two complete, Jones got on the board in the top of the third. as Clendenning scored from third off Hutchinson's grounder to short.

Northwest wasted little time responding in the bottom half of the inning, as Garrett Riggs blasted a solo homer to left, his fourth of the season, tying things at 1-1.

French added another Bobcat run in the fourth and the score remained locked at 2-1 until the bottom of the seventh, as Peel and Dalton Rogers delivered solid efforts on the mound for both teams.

After going down with an out to lead off the bottom of the seventh, a pair of walks to Hobson and Riggs gave the Rangers new life. Landon Rogers then advanced the runners on a fly out to center field and Hale delivered the tying run on an RBI-single that hopped past reliever Garrett Langrell.

Still facing two outs, Langrell sent Puckett aboard with a four-pitch walk to load the bases. That move would prove to be costly to the Bobcats, as a wild pitch allowed Spratlin to score from third as the winning run.

Peel improved to 3-1 on the season with his complete game performance. The Houston native delivered six strikeouts against three walks and no earned runs.

Rogers (1-2) was handed a tough loss for Jones, despite a gritty outing that featured 11 strikeouts against three walks. 

Both teams combined for just seven hits in the nightcap, with Hale, Hattier and Riggs earning one apiece for Northwest. Jones College finished with four hits, one apiece from Hutchinson, Ratliff, Andrew Howard and Jesse Johnson.