BOONEVILLE - Northwest was handed its first loss of the season to No. 11 Three Rivers College on Tuesday afternoon, but not before delivering an 8-0 run-rule victory in six innings against Calhoun.
Both games were part of the annual Northeast TigerFest tournament, which was extended into a week-long affair for 2022. The split put the Rangers' season record at 5-1, while Calhoun dropped to 5-4 overall and Three Rivers improved to 5-1 on the season.
Northwest will take another shot at Three Rivers on Wednesday morning for a 10:30 A.M. start, before closing out the day with a battle against Bevill State at 2:30 P.M. Both games will be broadcasted on NEMCCTV.com.
Game 1 - Northwest 8, Calhoun 0 (6 inn.)
Four players finished with two hits apiece and freshman
Gabby Dickerson totaled a season-high seven strikeouts, as Northwest shutout Calhoun in the opening game of Tuesday's TigerFest.
Northwest took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI sac fly from
Maddie Brower and improved that lead to 2-0 with an RBI-single from
Kaitlyn Bednarek in the second.
However, it was the bottom of the third inning where the Rangers really broke things open, scoring a pair of runs on another sac RBI from Brower and an RBI-double from
McKaylee Polk. Northwest followed with three more runs in the fourth, thanks to a sac fly from
Saige Koczka and a two-run single into center field from Brower.
Northwest was unable to clinch the run-rule in the fifth inning, but an RBI-single from
Molly Harris in the sixth officially closed the game out in favor of the Rangers.
Brower went 2-for-2 at the plate with four RBIs, while Harris, Polk and
Laila Armstrong each finished with two hits apiece. For her credit in the circle, Dickerson improved to 3-0 with seven strikeouts against one walk and just four hits allowed.
Game 2 - #11 Three Rivers 6, Northwest 3
A four-run first inning helped propel 11th-ranked Three Rivers to a sizable lead early, as Northwest was unable to complete the rally in a 6-3 loss to the Raiders.
An RBI-single and a two-run error allowed the Raiders to gain a quick 3-0 advantage, and a stolen base from Abby Wilson allowed Helena Garcia to advance from third on the throw, pushing the Rangers into a 4-0 hole.
After Three Rivers made it a 5-0 deficit with another run in the third, Northwest closed the gap with one swing of the bat, as Bednarek's three-run homer made it a 5-3 ballgame in the bottom of the fourth.
Audrey Rahlmann responded quickly in the top of the fifth for the Raiders, teeing off on a solo homer to left center, pushing the lead back to three runs. Although Northwest threatened to close the gap again in the sixth, the Rangers left two on base and couldn't get anything going in the seventh, resulting in the team's first loss of the season.
Northwest was limited to just three hits in the loss, one apiece from Bednarek, Harris and Koczka. Three Rivers pounded out seven hits, led by two apiece from Karlye Happold.
Meagan Allen (1-1) was handed the loss in the circle and lasted only one inning. Freshman
Kylee Brown pitched the next four in relief, striking out four batters against five walks with two earned runs allowed.
Makayla Bryant lasted four innings for the Raiders and earned the victory with two strikeouts against a pair of walks and three earned runs allowed. Alyson Marcum earned the save with two strikeouts in the final three innings.
