POPLARVILLE - Although Northwest led for most of its contest against Jones College, the Bobcats scraped across five runs over the seventh and eighth innings to rally for a 9-7 victory in the Region 23 Tournament on Tuesday, ending the Rangers' 2022 season.

Both teams were scoreless through three innings until a four-run burst from the Rangers in the top of the fourth. Wesley Lester got things started with an RBI-single, followed by Tyler Byrd's sacrifice fly to right, Hunter Cramer's RBI-single past the second baseman and Dawson Griffin's sacrifice fly to right field.

Jones College quickly cut the 4-0 deficit in half, scoring two in the bottom of the fourth off a two-out, two-run single from Billy Garrity.

Neither team would score in the fifth inning, but Northwest managed to snag a run back in the top of the sixth, thanks to Peeko Townsend's solo homer to right field. Townsend's 11th home run of the season and his second of the tournament made it a 5-2 advantage for the Rangers.

Once again, the Bobcats responded in the bottom of the inning, as a fielder's choice in Garrity's at-bat and an Andrew Jones RBI-single brought Jones College back within a run at 5-4.

Lester crushed a two-run home run to center in the top of the seventh, allowing Northwest to gain a 7-4 edge on the Bobcats. However, Jones College answered back with a four-run frame in the home half of the seventh, sparked by a leadoff double from Deejay Booth and a single from Tyler Ducksworth. 

After Colson Harris' sacrifice fly scored a run for the Bobcats, Drew Williamson brought his team back within a run on an RBI-single. Jakob Wax put Jones College on top with a two-run single and Ducksworth's sacrifice fly made it a 9-7 lead for the Bobcats.

Northwest scattered two hits over the final two innings, but the Rangers were ultimately unable to piece a rally together.

Jones College outhit the Rangers, 15-9, as six different Bobcats finished with two hits each. For Northwest, Lester closed out his career on a strong note at the plate, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs.

Connor Spencer (2-3) was handed the loss for Northwest, after allowing the tying and go-ahead runs to score in 1.1 innings of relief. Colton Presley started the first 5.2 innings for the Rangers, allowing four runs on nine hits, while collecting two strikeouts.

Luke Lycette (2-2) picked up the victory for Jones College, despite a combined effort of five strikeouts from Andrew Nix and Peyton Bell over 6.1 innings. Kace Matthews earned the save for the Bobcats, striking out three Northwest batters over the final two innings.

Northwest concludes its season at 26-24 overall, marking the 27th straight 20-win season, dating back to 1995.* It was also the 15th straight winning season for the Rangers and the 13th straight postseason appearance. The 2022 campaign also wrapped up the 17th year as head coach for Mark Carson, moving his all-time record to 479-315-2 (.603) and his conference record to 253-134 (.654).

Several Rangers also leave with their names etched in the program record books. One of those is sophomore catcher Ryan Lee, who ranks fourth for most home runs in a single season with 16 total. He also finishes third in slugging percentage (.902), tied for fourth in runs scored (58), sixth in walks (35) and tied for ninth in both runs batted in (52) and total bases (119).

Sophomore Caleb Hobson leaves with the third most stolen bases in program history, finishing with 33-for-35 on his attempts. He is tied for fifth in triples (4) and also ranks ninth for most runs scored in a single season (55), while also leaving Northwest tied for first in highest career fielding percentage (1.000).

Lester leaves Northwest after three years with his name scattered across the offensive record books. The Inverness native finishes tied for eighth in career home runs, joining Craig Dean (2007-08) and Kelton Hall (2019-21) with 20. Lester's .737 slugging percentage is also good for sixth all-time.

Despite only playing one season at Northwest, closer Connor Spencer tallied six saves, tied for sixth most in the career record books with Drew Griffin (2010-11). Sophomore Zach Willingham also ranks third in career shutouts (3), trailing only four from Joel Posey (2000-01) and five from Cody Reed (2012-13).

(*Does not include COVID-19 shortened 2020 season) Read Full Article