SENATOBIA - In a doubleheader that featured two entirely opposite games, Northwest picked up its first home sweep of the season on Friday, defeating Rend Lake College by a pair of 10-5 and 6-5 finals.

Northwest finished with 10 hits in the opener, highlighted by Ryan Lee hitting for the cycle and Tyler Byrd smashing a grand slam for his first career home run. Lee's milestone is the first known occurrence of any player hitting for the cycle at Northwest since at least 2006.

Game 2 was marred by walks, hit batters and errors for both teams, but the Rangers still held on with solid relief outings from Josh Hill and Connor Spencer. Hill earned the victory with two innings of relief, improving his season record to 2-0, while Spencer slammed the door in the seventh to pick up his second save.

With the sweep, Northwest has won four straight and six of its last eight games, improving to 8-6 on the season. Rend Lake dropped to 2-13 with the loss, as the Warriors saw its losing streak stretch to 12 games.

Northwest will host Coahoma and Mississippi Delta on Tuesday, March 8 for a non-conference round-robin. The opposing teams will play each other at 11 A.M., followed by the Rangers facing MDCC at 2 P.M. and Coahoma at 5 P.M. All games will be carried on Ranger TV (nwccrangers.com/watch).


Game 1 - Northwest 10, Rend Lake 5

Lee's historic day at the plate served as the biggest highlight from Game 1, as the Union University transfer blasted a single, double, triple, home run and even a sac fly in the Rangers' 10-5 triumph.

Lee got things going with a two-out double in the bottom of the first, but Northwest failed to jump ahead in the inning. Scoreless entering the bottom of the second, the Rangers loaded the bases on three hit batters, which set up Byrd for the grand slam to right and a 4-0 lead.

Lee led off the third with a single to right and later scored on a two-out RBI-single from Jaylon Buckley, stretching the Rangers' lead to 5-0.

After having its leadoff batter reach base on a hit-by-pitch, Rend Lake's Hunter Thomas got his team on the board with a two-run homer and a bases loaded hit-by-pitch helped the Warriors close the gap to 5-3 in the top of the fourth.

With the Northwest lead down to a pair of runs, Lee responded with a two-run homer to left center in the bottom of the fourth, pushing the Rangers back to a comfortable 7-3 advantage.

Rend Lake would get two runs back in the top of the fifth on an RBI-double and a grounder to first, only for the Rangers to tack on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to Lee's sac fly to right and Wesley Lester's RBI-double to left center.

Leading 9-5 entering the eighth inning, Lee would get one more run on the board and add the feather to his cap, sending a triple to center field with two outs on the board. Lester would then drive him in on the next at-bat with another double, solidfying the 10-5 victory.

Lee officially finished 4-for-4 with three RBIs to lead the Rangers at the plate. Buckley and Lester also finished with two hits apiece and combined for three RBIs, while Byrd and Dawson Griffin accounted for the remaining two hits.

On the mound, Brayden Sanders got off to a hot start with five strikeouts through two innings, but a rough fourth inning led to the Rangers making the call to the bullpen. C.J. Lofton (1-0) earned the win in 3.2 innings of relief, shaking off two early runs allowed to finish with three strikeouts.

Spencer and Zach Beasley tossed the final two innings of relief for Northwest, leaving the Warriors scoreless and striking out two batters.

Rend Lake also finished with 10 hits on the day, with Arlon Butts and Julius Scearce earning two apiece. Korey Bunselmeyer was handed the loss on the mound after allowing nine earned runs and hitting seven batters through 5.2 innings.


Game 2 - Northwest 6, Rend Lake 5

A wild, rocky first inning for both teams settled into a pitching duel of sorts, with Northwest holding on for the 6-5 victory.

Rend Lake opened the top of the first with three runs, all coming after a series of errors and wild pitches set up an RBI-single from Hunter Thomas. Despite the shaky start, Northwest starter Colton Presley recovered to limit the damage and eventually last four complete frames.

Rend Lake starter Nick Compton got off to an even worst start in the bottom of the first, walking the first five Ranger batters and resulting in two easy runs. After striking out the next two batters, Compton issued yet another bases loaded walk that tied the game at 3-3 and ended his brief outing.

Christopher Gory would start off his relief appearance with a bases loaded walk to Hunter Cramer that gave the Rangers the 4-3 lead, but he would settle in over the next 3.2 innings to deliver seven strikeouts and keep the Warriors within striking distance.

Presley kept Rend Lake off the board over the next three innings, but after hitting the leadoff batter to start the fifth, the Rangers brought Hill in relief. Although the sophomore would give up a two-run homer from Thomas, Hill kept the Warriors off the board the rest of the way and finished with two strikeouts.

Rend Lake's 5-4 lead would be short-lived, as Gory hit Logan and walked Cramer to lead off the bottom of the fifth. Alan Kivett's RBI-single up the middle tied the game, resulting in a pitching change for the Warriors.

With a new pitcher into the ballgame, Lee delivered another sac fly that scored Cramer from third, giving Northwest the 6-5 lead.

Both teams stranded a runner on base in the sixth inning with no additional runs and Spencer closed the door in the seventh, punching out three of the Warriors' four batters to earn the save and clinch the win for the Rangers.

Rend Lake outhit the Rangers 8-2, but the early walks and hit batters caused most of the damage for the Warriors. Kivett and Cameron Lancaster provided Northwest with its only hits in the nightcap.