SENATOBIA - Although a five-run rally fell short in the opener, Northwest rebounded in the nightcap with a stellar performance on the mound from freshman John Luke Marlin, as the Rangers split with Hinds on Sunday afternoon at Jim Miles Field.

Northwest trailed 7-0 in Game 1, but used a four-run frame in the bottom of the seventh to stage a rally. The Rangers got a run in the third inning of the nightcap and Marlin worked himself out of a jam with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, to earn his second win of the season and a career-high 10 strikeouts.

With the split, the Rangers moved to 16-12 overall and 10-8 in MACCC play, while Hinds moved to 12-10 overall and 10-6 within the conference.

Northwest will return to action on Friday, April 2 for a non-conference twinbill against Holmes at 2/5 P.M. The games were originally scheduled for February 13, before three rounds of winter weather wreaked havoc on north Mississippi.


Game 1 - Hinds 8, Northwest 5

For six innings, Hinds pitcher Caleb Sterling carved up the Northwest batters as the Eagles built a 7-0 lead and fought off a late Ranger rally.

Scoreless entering the third inning, the Eagles put a run on the board with an RBI-single from Justin Williams. From there, Hinds would score a run in every inning except the eighth.

Sterling held the Northwest bats in check for four innings, until his no-hitter bid was broken up on a pair of singles in the bottom of the fifth from Peyton Mills and Caleb Hobson. 

Northwest finally found the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh, as Mills singled to right field and scored Lancaster to make it a 7-1 deficit. Hobson got in on the action with an RBI-double and two more runs followed on an RBI-single from Brady Logan and a saf fly to center from Noah Hattier, as the Rangers made it a manageable 7-4 deficit.

Northwest tacked on another run in the eighth, scoring a run on a balk with the bases loaded, only for Hinds to respond with a run of its own in the top of the ninth.

Hobson led the Rangers with a 3-for-4 day at the plate with a double and an RBI, while Mills and Logan came up with two hits apiece.

Josh Hill (1-3) picked up the loss for Northwest, despite throwing five strikeouts in 5.2 innings. Jake Savage and Will Logsdon also made appearances in relief.

Hinds finished the opener with 12 hits, led by three apiece from Conner Carter and Vantrel Reed. Sterling ended his outing with 11 strikeouts over 6.0 innings.


Game 2 - Northwest 1, Hinds 0

In an old-fashioned pitchers' duel, Marlin reigned supreme with 10 strikeouts and earned his first career victory at the collegiate level.

Tucker Richmond was responsible for the only run of the ballgame, scoring Cameron Lancaster from third on an RBI-single to shortstop. Ty Leatherwood ended the day as the only Ranger with two hits or more.

For Hinds, the Eagles finished with six hits in the nightcap, led by two apiece from Sterling and Sean Daily. Brooks Auger picked up the loss for Hinds, despite striking out nine batters in five complete innings.