By: Brian Lentz
SENATOBIA - An extra innings victory in Game 1 and a strong outing from
Colton Presley in the nightcap helped lift Northwest to a series sweep against No. 9 East Central on Saturday.
Hammer Franks tossed eight strikeouts in the Rangers' 5-4 win against the Warriors in the opener and
Will Logsdon collected the save in the finale, as Northwest improved to 21-13 overall and 13-9 in the MACCC.
Freshman
Landon Rogers led Northwest by finishing 4-for-8 at the plate with a double and an RBI.
Kelton Hall also delivered a solo homer in the fourth inning, as the Ingomar native delivered his ninth home run of the season.
Northwest will travel to Copiah-Lincoln on Saturday, April 20 at 2/5 P.M. The Rangers will then host 11th-ranked Itawamba on Tuesday, April 20 at 3/6 P.M. for the final home twinbill of the season.
Game 1 - Northwest 5, #9 East Central 4
Noah Hattier's single in the bottom of the 10th inning scored
Cade Spratlin from third, as Northwest earned a 5-4 walk-off win against East Central.
Northwest set things up with a leadoff single to right from Rogers in the 10th and a walk to
Cade Spratlin set up the winning run.
East Central scored a run in the first off Amani Larry's RBI-single to center, but the Rangers responded to tie the game at 1-1 in the third inning, thanks to
Ty Leatherwood's sac fly to left. A wild pitch then allowed Rogers to score from third and give Northwest a 2-1 advantage in the fourth.
Northwest remained ahead until the top of the seventh, when Eli Harrison's grounder to second allowed the Warriors to bring in Jesse Boydstun from third.
Tied 2-2, Hall's RBI-single scored Hattier in the bottom of the seventh and an error at second allowed
Peyton Mills to reach base for a 4-2 lead on the Warriors.
Behind a sac fly from Larry and an RBI-single from Boydstun, the Warriors tied the game at 4-4 in the eighth inning. Northwest was unable to respond in the next two frames, forcing extra innings and the eventual walk-off winner.
Hattier and Rogers led the Rangers with two hits apiece, as Northwest collected nine hits. East Central finished with eight hits, led by a 3-for-4 effort at the plate from Larry.
Jake Savage improved to 5-2 on the season, as the freshman reliever from Lewisburg finished the final three innings with a pair of strikeouts.
Game 2 - Northwest 6, #9 East Central 4
Highlighted by a two-run single from Leatherwood and a two-run double from Rogers, Northwest plated four runs in the bottom of the fifth to edge East Central and secure the series sweep.
Conner Hicks' RBI-single allowed the Warriors to strike first in the second inning, only for the Rangers to take a 2-1 lead off Hall's solo homer and
Caleb Hobson's sac fly to center in the fourth.
East Central tied the game at 2-2 in the fifth, only to fall behind 6-2 after the dominant bottom of the fifth.
Trey Lewis cut the deficit to 6-3 in the top of the seventh and a wild pitch brought East Central back within two runs, but that was as close as the Warriors would get.
Presley improved to 1-1 on the season, as East Central fell to 19-13 overall and 14-8 on the season.
