SENATOBIA - Northwest held off a three-run rally from No. 7 Meridian in the ninth inning of Game 1, winning the opener, 9-8, before dropping a 13-2 decision in the nightcap on Saturday.
Northwest evened its overall record to 13-13 with the split, while moving to 3-7 in conference play. Meridian now sits at 19-7 and 7-3 against MACCC competition.
Northwest will wrap up its extended homestand on Tuesday, March 29 against Northeast at 3/6 P.M. Both games will be carried on Ranger TV (nwccrangers.com/watch) and Facebook Live.
Game 1 - Northwest 9, #7 Meridian 8
Despite seeing Meridian stage a three-run rally in the top of the ninth inning, Northwest closer
Connor Spencer came in and slammed the door on the Eagles' comeback, as the Rangers notched the 9-8 victory in Game 1.
For Northwest, the win marked the second victory against a nationally-ranked opponent, thanks in part to a pair of solo home runs by
Ryan Lee and
Peeko Townsend. Lee's homer came in the bottom of the first to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead and Townsend's came after a three-run frame from the Eagles, pulling Northwest back within 3-2 at the end of the second inning.
From there, the game went back and forth after a couple scoreless innings.
Wesley Lester's grounder to short helped Northwest tie the game at 3-3 in the fifth inning, before the Eagles took a 5-3 advantage on a pair of sacrifice flies in the sixth.
Northwest stormed back with a solid sixth inning, highlighted by a pair of RBI base hits from
Jaylon Buckley and
Cameron Lancaster that tied the game. An error from Meridian allowed the Rangers to score two runs and take a 7-5 lead heading into the seventh.
Northwest tacked on two more runs in the seventh after Buckley doubled and later scored on a wild pitch, building a 9-5 lead. The Rangers' cushion lasted until the top of the ninth, when the Eagles staged their comeback on an RBI-double from Bo Gatlin, a wild pitch and a Braden Luke single.Â
Meridian did all of its damage with two outs on the board and although Spencer's relief effort started off rocky, the sophomore delivered the third and final out by striking out Brock Butler with the tying run at second base, earning the save and helping the Rangers hold on.
Northwest outhit Meridian 11-6 in the contest, as the Rangers were led by two hits apiece from Buckley, Lee, Lancaster and Townsend.
Colton Presley picked up the win, improving to 3-0 on the season after tossing the first six innings.
Cole Boswell was handed the loss for the Eagles, striking out five batters and issuing seven walks in five complete innings of work.
Game 2 - #7 Meridian 13, Northwest 2 (6 inn.)
A 2-1 lead for Northwest evaporated quickly in the top of the third inning, as Meridian plated three runs in the third and four apiece in the fifth and sixth innings to run-rule the Rangers in the nightcap.
Northwest built its early lead on solo home runs from Lee and Townsend, but a three-run homer from Butler in the top of the third turned things in favor of the Eagles. Gatlin's homer in the fourth made it a 5-2 lead for Meridian and a solo home run from John Mitchell started off the big fifth inning for the Eagles.
Things went from bad to worse for the Rangers after that, as a trio of base hits pushed Northwest into a 9-2 deficit after the end of the fifth. A wild pitch and a three-run triple from Ke'Shun Collier in the sixth brought the score to its final total.
Northwest was held to just three hits in the contest, two being the home runs from Lee and Townsend. Lancaster was the only other Ranger to get a hit in the loss.
Meridian scattered 11 hits across the lineup, including two apiece from Coller, Gatlin, Luke and Mitchell. Alec Sparks (4-3) went all six innings on the mound for the Eagles, tossing six strikeouts against one walk.
