FULTON - Competing for the first time in over two weeks, Northwest was held to a single run in both games of a 4-1 and 8-1 sweep at No. 2 Itawamba on Thursday afternoon.
Northwest totaled five hits in the opener, but
MyCala Helms would provide the Rangers' only run, scoring from third base off a wild pitch in the fifth inning. The Rangers were then held to a season-low two hits in the nightcap, one being an RBI-single from
Molly Harris.
With the losses, Northwest fell to 14-12 on the season and 11-11 in the MACCC, while the Lady Indians improved to 31-5 overall and 23-3 in conference play. The Rangers will host Southwest Mississippi on Sunday, April 25 at 1/3 P.M., with Sophomore Day festivities set to take place between games.
Both games against the Lady Bears will be streamed on nwccrangers.com/watch along with the usual live stats feed on nwccrangers.com.
Game 1 - #2 Itawamba 4, Northwest 1
Itawamba used the long ball to score all four of its runs during the Lady Indians' 4-1 opening victory.
Although
Laila Armstrong led off the game with a single down the left field line, Northwest was unable to score anything in the top of the first. Ivy Watts wasted no time getting the Lady Indians on the board in the bottom frame of the first inning, as her two-run shot to left field put the Rangers in a 2-0 deficit.
Northwest kept Itawamba off the board until the bottom of the fourth, when Brianna Posey blasted a two-run shot to left center, stretching the Rangers' deficit to 4-0.
Although Harris and Helms provided the Rangers with back-to-back base hits to open the top of the fifth, Northwest was only able to come away with a single run, thanks to Helms reaching home on a wild pitch thrown to
Meredith Owen.
Neither of the final two innings went the way of Northwest, as the Rangers were sent down in order during the sixth and in four at-bats during the top of the seventh.
Armstrong led Northwest with a 2-for-3 effort at the plate, while Harris, Helms and
Caylee Comer provided the only other hits for the Rangers. Watts and Hannah Henry combined to deliver four of Itawamba's seven hits.
Kaylei Peterson (7-6) allowed all four of Itawamba's runs in four complete innings of work. Freshman
Meagan Allen polished off the final two innings in the circle, providing two scoreless innings and one strikeout.
Madison Jenkins pitched six of the seven innings for the Lady Indians, improving her record to 12-1 with five strikeouts. Emily Robinson delivered a pair of strikeouts in the seventh inning, earning her ninth save of the season.
Game 2 - #2 Itawamba 8, Northwest 1
Northwest got off to a shaky start in the finale and never fully recovered, as Itawamba scored five of its eight runs in the first two innings to notch the sweep against the Rangers.
Watts provided the Lady Indians' first run on a single up the middle and Henry's RBI-single to second made it a 2-0 advantage for ICC.
Itawamba used a three-run second inning to bury the Rangers into a 5-0 deficit, as the Lady Indians got runs off an error, a single from McKenzie Patterson and a sac fly to center from Watts.
Northwest began to settle in a little over the next two innings and kept Itawamba off the board. Meanwhile, Harris delivered her RBI-single in the fourth to get the Rangers on the board, trailing 5-1.
Robinson's RBI-single to left field provided Itawamba an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth, and a two-run single from Posey made it an 8-1 hole for Northwest.
Despite the newfound momentum in the fourth, Northwest failed to do anything at the plate the rest of the way, as the Rangers went down in order over the final three innings.
Itawamba outhit the Rangers 11-2 in the nightcap, led by two apiece from Henry, Watts and Connor Stevens.
Allen was handed her first career loss after allowing three earned runs over one complete inning. Peterson pitched 4.1 innings in relief and allowed a pair of earned runs against a walk, while Koczka tossed a strikeout in the final two at-bats.
