SENATOBIA - Although Sunday afternoon didn't end with a sweep for Northwest softball, the Rangers still put on a show at the plate in a 3-1 loss and 15-7 run-rule against Southwest Mississippi on Sophomore Day.

Molly Harris highlighted the finale with a pair of home runs, her second and third homers of the season, while MyCala Helms delivered a two-run triple in the fourth to become the program's all-time career leader with six triples. Sophomore Saige Koczka also became the single-season leader in runs batted in (46) and total bases (95), joining her already current all-time home run record (11).

Northwest finished with six hits in the Game 1 loss, but responded with 16 hits in the Game 2 run-rule victory. The Rangers scored four runs in the third and 10 in the fourth, before sophomore Kaylei Peterson closed out the contest by tossing all three final outs in the top of the fifth.

With the split, the Rangers keep their playoff hopes alive with a 15-13 overall record and a 12-12 mark in the MACCC. Northwest will travel to East Central on Monday, April 26 before hosting fifth-ranked Copiah-Lincoln on Thursday, April 28 in the regular season finale.


Game 1 - Southwest Mississippi 3, Northwest 1

Jensen Gremillion had the Rangers' number in the opener, as the Southwest Mississippi pitcher struck out 12 batters against one walk and a single earned run allowed, as Northwest dropped a 3-1 decision to the Lady Bears.

Northwest loaded the bases in the third, but could only muster a single run, as Maddie Brower scored Laila Armstrong from third on a single that skipped past the shortstop.

From there, Gremillion and the Lady Bears locked down the Rangers, surrendering only two hits the rest of the way. Meanwhile, Southwest Mississippi tied the game in the fourth on a sac fly to left and took a 2-1 lead in the sixth on a Jade Latham RBI-single to center field.

For her credit, Peterson pitched a solid seven innings for Northwest and struck out four batters, but Southwest Mississippi delivered the final blow in the seventh inning with Shelby Mason's RBI-double to center field.

Brower led Northwest with a 3-for-3 effort at the plate, while Koczka and Armstrong finished with the remaining three hits. Peterson fell to 6-7 in the circle with her loss.


Game 2 - Northwest 15, Southwest Mississippi 7 (5 inn.)

For the first two innings, it seemed that Southwest Mississippi was on its way to a sweep of the Rangers on Sophomore Day.

That all changed in the third inning, as Northwest scored four runs and then came away with a whopping 10 runs on eight hits in the bottom of the fourth to take a comfortable 15-4 advantage. Despite a spark from the Lady Bears in the top of the fifth, Peterson shut down the bats and delivered an emphatic strikeout for the final out and the 15-7 victory.

Halee Jenkins two-run double gave the Lady Bears a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, but Harris trimmed the deficit to one with her solo homer in the bottom of the second.

Jenkins again delivered another Southwest Mississippi run in the top of the third inning for a 3-1 advantage, until the Ranger bats caught fire in the following frame.

Armstrong led off the inning with a single, followed by a double to right field from Brower. Facing two outs, Helms delivered a single up the middle to score Brower and Harris then teed off on a two-run homer, her second of the game, as Northwest took a 5-3 advantage.

Jenna Brock helped bring the Lady Bears back within a run in the top of the fourth, but was thrown out for the third out after trying to stretch her double to a triple.

With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Northwest put the game away for good, starting with Caylee Comer's RBI-single and an error at second base that allowed the Rangers to take a 7-4 lead. Helms then followed with a two-run triple to left field, pushing the lead to 9-4.

Northwest kept the party going, as Bednarek's two-run double down the left field line scored Harris and Mary Britton Faulkner for an 11-4 advantage. Molly Beth Ferguson got in on the action as well, as her single to left allowed Bednarek to score, before Koczka smashed a two-run double to center to make it a 14-4 lead.

Brower provided the Rangers their final run in the inning, as her RBI-double allowed Koczka to score from second for the 15-4 advantage.

Southwest Mississippi led off the top of the fifth with three singles to load the bases. A sac fly from Ashleigh Rowland gave the Lady Bears a run back and an RBI-single from Macie Miley helped cut the deficit to 15-6.

A fielder's choice to second base helped the Lady Bears make it a 15-7 deficit, but Peterson's strikeout ended the game in run-rule fashion.

Armstrong and Bednarek led Northwest with three hits apiece, while Helms and Harris provided two hits and three RBIs each. 

Meagan Allen collected her first career victory with two strikeouts against two walks in four complete innings. In a stark contrast to her Game 1 performance, Gremillion was handed the loss for the Lady Bears after allowing five runs in relief of starting pitcher Jade Latham.