OXFORD, Ala. - Needing a victory to keep its season alive, freshman pitcher
Kylee Brown answered the call for Northwest, as the fifth-seeded Rangers remained alive in the NJCAA Division II Softball Championship with a 6-0 shutout of No. 14 seed Oakland (Mich.) on Friday afternoon.
Brown tossed 5.1 innings in the circle and improved her record to 4-0, while sophomore
Meagan Allen closed out the final 1.2 frames with two strikeouts and no walks or hits allowed.
Northwest also achieved a new milestone for the program, improving to 37-14 overall and capturing the most wins in a single season. The previous record was 36 victories, set back in 2007.
Much like the other two games in the tournament, Northwest put the first run on the board with a two-out single from
Molly Harris that scored
Saige Koczka from third, after she had also reached on a single and a stolen base. The Rangers would not score again until the third inning, when Harris and
Caylee Comer delivered back-to-back RBI-singles with two outs, stretching the lead to 3-0.
As the Rangers continued to put in work at the plate, Brown commanded the game from the circle, keeping Oakland off the board throughout the contest. The Raiders threatened a couple of times, including stranding a runner at third in the third inning and leaving two stranded in scoring position in the sixth, but Brown and Allen would combine to preserve the shutout.
Bailey Russell helped Northwest provide another run in the fourth, reaching first on a base hit and later advancing to second on an error, while
Kaitlyn Bednarek scored as a result of the miscue. Later, Russell would get thrown out trying to steal second base, only for
Meredith Owen to score from third in the process, pushing the Rangers' lead to 5-0.
Northwest was shutout over the next two innings, but an error in the seventh in
Haleigh Buchanan's at-bat helped Koczka deliver the sixth and final run. Allen followed by retiring the final three Raiders in the bottom of the seventh, securing the win and keeping the Rangers in the tournament for another day.
Brown delivered three strikeouts against two walks, giving up just four hits in the process. The Rangers also dished out 11 hits, with Comer, Harris, Koczka and Owen accounting for two hits apiece.
Claudia Feldpausch lasted six innings for Oakland, surrendering five runs on 10 hits with one strikeout. Emma McGrath tossed the final inning for the Raiders, allowing the last Northwest run, while Lauren Fritz finished with two hits to lead Oakland at the plate.
Another elimination game is on deck tomorrow for the Rangers, as Northwest will take on No. 9 Kansas City (Kan.). The Blue Devils enter the matchup with a 45-15 overall record, most recently edging Delaware Tech in a 10-9 battle in the loser's bracket.
Northwest and Kansas City will do battle at 10 A.M. on Saturday, with the game slated to be carried on the
NJCAA Network. Fans wishing to watch the game and all other remaining games involving the Rangers can purchase a $10 single-game pass or a $25 tournament pass.
